Cursed Be
by Rose Madder
Summary: A curse is placed on Cole, and the person who comes to the manor to help ends up bringing yet another curse along... And now everybody is cursed! Sequel to Season of Hope. COMPLETE
1. Vengeance shall I wreak

Note #1: Angel, I'm so sorry that I made you cry with "Season of Hope"! I had no idea that you still didn't know about those awful last episodes of Season 4. I, too, cried my eyes out at the end of Season 4; that was when I started to consider giving up on the TV show and sticking to fan fiction. As for all that nonsense that the show writers gave us at the end of Season 4 and on Season 5: quoting Cole, it was just a stupid nightmare, it never happened.

Note #2: Shel mentioned Ben's age on her review of "Season of Hope". Well, I wasn't very sure of which month he should be born in to match the show timeline, so I decided to create my own timeline and stick to it. So, Shel, Ben isn't in his twos yet: he was born on November 27th, 2002, and "Cursed Be" takes place in the end of January of 2004, which means he's almost 1 year and 2 months now. And in case someone is wondering, Melinda shall be born in a couple of weeks. I don't know if this fits in the show timeline but, as I've already said, the show writers have no say in my Charmed world.

Note #3: This story is a crossover with another TV show. I won't tell you each one yet, because I don't want to spoil the surprise, but be aware that I completely disregarded that other show's timeline, too. Don't worry, though: I'll explain everything as we go along, and Barb is here to stop me if I start to not make sense.

Previous installments: Redemption - The Demon's Advocate - So Mote It Be - Fruit of My Womb - The Coleville Horror - Season of Hope

Credits: I don't own any of the Charmed characters, I never meant to infringe anyone's copyrights, so please take this story for what it is -- fun -- and don't bother to suit me.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"What about just the double bed?"

"No."

"Just the mattresses, then?"

"No."

Cole remained silent for a while, and Leo watched him over the crib that they were carrying across the backyard. Helping his in laws move out wasn't exactly his idea of a perfect Sunday morning, and Cole's incessant asking of why Paige couldn't orb their stuff from one house to the other wasn't really helping. Especially after the two men had spent most of the previous three days working hard to tear down the wall between the two houses, that now shared a common backyard, whilst keeping their separated entrances. Yet, as he glanced at Cole again, Leo couldn't help but smile a little: the truth was, Cole had been as excited about that house as a kid with a brand new toy, and it was impossible not to be drawn by his enthusiasm.

"What about..."

"No!"

"You don't even know what I was going to ask!" Cole protested.

"Cole," Leo sighed, putting the crib down and using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead, "if it has anything to do with using magic to help us here, the answer is no."

"Why not?"

"You're doing this just to annoy me, aren't you?" Leo blurted out, frustrated.

"Yeah, yeah, personal gain..." -- Cole rolled his eyes -- "I know. You've explained it to me like, a gazillion times."

"Maybe if you had understood it the first time I explained..."

"So, it's personal gain," Cole proceeded, ignoring Leo's remark, "so what? It's not like we'd be hurting anyone, or shifting the balance between good and evil, or doing anything that we don't do almost everyday, for total strangers." -- Leo opened his mouth but Cole held up his hand -- "Look, I'm glad to use magic to help strangers, what I don't get is, why does it become such a big 'no no' just because it'll be us, not them, on the receiving end? I mean, we are innocents, too, aren't we?"

Leo sighed and ran his hand across his face. "We couldn't assign him to any other Whitelighter," the Elders had said. _Go figure why._

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the crib's trail as he took a deep breath and gathered all his patience before addressing his newest charge again:

"Cole, I understand that, after more than a century using your demon powers for your own convenience, this personal gain rule must sound quite arbitrary to you."

He ignored Cole's "you bet" look and proceeded:

"But what you have to understand is that your powers aren't just another feature you inherited from your father, like the color of your eyes or a taste for flavored food. They were given to you for a reason, and whatever this reason was, it certainly wasn't for making your life easier. Resorting to magic to deal with the everyday non-magical situations would diminish you as a witch and prevent you from evolving as a human being. Besides... What, now?" -- he straightened up, giving Cole's little smile a slightly annoyed look.

"Sorry," Cole said, holding up his hands in a conciliatory manner. "I was just... " -- his smile widened and Leo raised an impatient eyebrow -- "Five years ago, if I was told that I'd be standing here letting a Whitelighter lecture me..." -- he chuckled slightly and waved his head -- "You gotta admit it's kinda funny."

Leo chuckled, too, in spite of himself. Five years ago, the man standing before him was a murderous demon, and witches were advised to avoid a confrontation with him at all costs. And now here he was, Leo Wyatt, lecturing him like a teacher scolding a schoolboy.

"Well, don't just stand there letting my words fly right over your head, okay?" he said, half seriously.

"You're no fun," Cole muttered, half joking.

"I'm not supposed to be fun," Leo retorted. "I'm your Whitelighter; I'm supposed to keep you out of trouble."

"Come on," he added as he caught a grip on the crib and prepared to raise it from the ground again, "we're almost there. Let's get the crib inside the house and then maybe take a break. It's not like the girls are gonna finish packing anywhere in the near future, anyway."

Cole followed his example, and together they started to make their way to the Turners' again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"You know," Phoebe sighed as she took a pair of crimson sandals from the closet and put them inside a cardboard box, along with the other sandals, pumps, moccasins, boots, sneakers and clogs that were already there, "maybe Cole is right: maybe I do have too many shoes."

"Oh!" -- Paige covered her mouth with her hand, staring at her in feign horror -- "I knew we should never have agreed with this: look at what it's doing to her!" she said to Piper.

She was sitting by Piper's side on the edge of Phoebe and Cole's bed, placing Ben's toys inside another cardboard box, and now she stood up and walked over to Phoebe, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, next to the closet's open door.

"Phoebe, look at me," she said, kneeling before Phoebe and cupping her sister's face between her hands. "You have to fight it. I know it's difficult, since you're gonna be outnumbered by the boys, but you gotta be strong: you **_can't _**start thinking like them! Remember: a girl can **_never _**have too many shoes."

Phoebe giggled and hugged her, saying:

"Thank you for bringing me back to my senses, sweetie."

She smiled at Piper over Paige's shoulder, and as her older sister smiled back at her, Phoebe couldn't help but think of how different this was from the last time she and Cole had moved out. No guilt, no hurt feelings, no silent reproaches; this time, there was just laughter and joy, as they all made plans for the new house and for the parties they'd give in that huge backyard they now had. Before any papers were signed, the whole idea had been widely discussed by the whole family, and nothing had been held back: everything had been said loud and clear, and when they finally reached an agreement everyone felt that they were making the right decision.

There was a lot of stuff yet to be bought before the new house was fully equipped and furnished, but it was slowly starting to look less like a house and more like a home: Piper had sewed curtains for the kitchen and Paige had painted pictures for the living room, and Leo had spent most of the first two weeks of January there, wearing his toolbelt and making some minor but much needed repairs. Cole had been with him, beaming with enthusiasm and hindering more than helping, since the man who could throw an athame at a moving target twenty feet away without missing was a walking disaster with a monkey wrench in his hands.

"So," Paige said as she broke the hug, "Leo mentioned something about Cole having a meeting with a **_human_** client tomorrow." -- she emphasized the word 'human', as opposed to all the centaurs, fairies, elves, dwarves and other kinds of magical creatures that had hired Cole's services after he had helped Sarsour with the trolls.

"That's true," Phoebe said, smiling. "Darryl sent him this guy who's pleading not-guilty to a charge of theft, and Cole is thrilled to be back in human courts."

"I though he liked his regular clients."

"Oh, he does. But the fact that human clients pay in American dollars means a lot to him; I keep telling him that there's nothing wrong with being paid in magical supplies, but..." -- Phoebe rolled her eyes, letting out an amused sigh -- "Well, you know how men can get when it comes to money."

The girls giggled and went back to work in silence.

"So," Paige said after a while, "how does this personalized ring thing work, anyway?"

"Actually, it's very simple," Phoebe said. "You already know our new phone number, right?" Paige nodded and she proceeded: "Well, that's the number you're gonna call if you're somewhere other than the manor and you want to talk to me or Cole, or even if you're at the manor and are too lazy to cross the backyard. But if a demon attacks here, you're gonna call a different number: same first six numbers, but ending with '00' instead of '54'. Then the phone will sound differently, not riiiiiiiiiing, riiiiiiiiiing, but ring-ring, ring-ring, you know?"

"And Phoebe and Cole will know that we're in trouble," Piper explained, "and won't even bother to answer the phone: they'll come running to help."

"Exactly," Phoebe said. "And it works both ways: whenever you hear the ring-ring thing here, orb straight to our place."

She reached out to close the cardboard box, then frowned as she spotted an unexpected item inside.

"Hey!" she said, taking a rubber ball from inside the box and giving it an intrigued look. "Who put this here?"

Phoebe peered inside the box and saw a hairbrush and a box of crayons also among her shoes. She gave her sisters an interrogative look, but they looked just as puzzled as she was. Just then, Ben came walking across the room and mindfully threw one of Cole's slippers into the box.

"Sweetie, what are you..." -- Ben turned to her with a proud grin, and Phoebe's jaw dropped when it sank in what he was doing -- "Oh my God, you're helping! You're helping mommy!... Aaw, baby, you're so precious!" she cooed, pulling him to a hug and giving him several sound kisses.

He squealed and laughed and squirmed in her arms, but she tickled and kissed him relentlessly before finally releasing him.

"You're the sweetest little boy ever, and mommy loves you so much! But," she added, knowing that they'd better get rid of their little helper if they intended to ever finish packing, "I think you should now go help daddy and Uncle Leo. What do you say? Do you wanna carry some of this stuff to the new house?"

"'Kay!" Ben said, cheerfully.

"Good boy!" Phoebe said, smiling as she promptly took a plastic bag from the closet and threw some of Ben's toys inside it. "Now," she proceeded, showing him the bag with a very serious expression, "this is Ben's bag. You're gonna take it to the new house, and put it in your brand new bedroom. And," -- she eyed Paige -- "Aunt Paige is going with you."

"'Kay!" Ben said, and turned to Paige with a smile. When she made a move to scoop him up, though, he gave her an indignant "No!". Then, much to his mother and aunts' amusement, he left the bedroom with a very determined look on his face, proudly carrying the bag that Phoebe had given him. As Paige followed him through the door, Phoebe warned:

"Paige, you're gonna carry him down the stairs, whether he likes it or not!"

"I know!" Paige's answer came mixed with the familiar chiming sound as she orbed straight to the top of the stairs, to get there before her little nephew did.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"So," Leo was saying to Cole as they walked downstairs, after leaving Ben's crib in his new bedroom, "I had to listen as the doctor congratulated Piper for her healthy eating habits and her self-control, because she hasn't put on one single pound beyond the weight she was supposed to gain during the pregnancy, while I sat there, knowing that **_I_** have already gained no less than eleven freaking pounds!"

He glared at Cole's amused smile and grunted:

"You know, this is where you're supposed to make a few sympathetic noises."

Cole was still laughing when they reached the first floor, just as Ben was coming through the door with Paige on his heels.

"Look who's helping!" Paige announced as the toddler proudly walked towards Cole, carrying the plastic bag with his toys. "He brought it all by himself."

"Hey, that's great!" Cole said, smiling as he kneeled on the floor before his son and playfully unsettled his hair. "So, what do we have here?" he asked, giving the plastic bag an amused look.

"Dis!" -- Ben showed him the plastic bag with a big smile, yet already losing interest in it as he glanced around the almost empty living room. Wow! Lots of space to run around!

Cole watched with an adoring smile as the toddler clapped his hands and cheerfully ran across the room, giggling and enjoying the sound of his little feet tapping on the boarded floor.

"Have you finished packing yet?" Leo asked Paige.

"Almost," she said, and Leo and Cole exchanged a skeptical look.

"I'll get us those beers," Leo said to Cole as he headed to the kitchen, intending to cross the backyard towards the manor.

Paige pouted at that blatant lack of trust -- even though it was true that she and her sisters weren't even close to finishing the packing -- but then her attention was caught by an old sofa that had come from the manor's attic and been brought back to life by Leo's skillful hands. It had received new upholstery, the wood finish had been cleaned and waxed, and a beautiful yellow damask fabric had replaced the old rusty one.

"Wow! Is this the same old thing that I have been nagging Piper to get rid of for the last three months?"

"The one and only," Cole said, smiling. "I wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

"It's just..." -- Paige's comment was cut short by the sudden arrival of a tall, slim woman with long red hair in the middle of the room, surrounded by clouds of white smoke.

She wore a long purple robe, and her dark blue eyes were hard as steel as she pointed a hand with long fingernails towards Cole and chanted:

"I have been called and vengeance shall I wreak!  
Cower, masculine one. Tremble as you face my wrath!"

Paige looked from the apparition to Cole, and then to Ben, who was standing next to her, looking at the newcomer with big round eyes. She knew she should take the boy out of there, but she didn't want to leave Cole alone with the creature that had so obviously come after him. Cole noticed her hesitation and exclaimed:

"Paige, take Ben out of here, NOW!"

That snapped Paige out of her paralysis, and she grabbed Ben and orbed to the manor with him, to call for backup.

"You've got the wrong guy, lady," Cole said to the woman.

He felt a glimpse of hope as she cocked her head to the side, giving him a suspicious look, but it didn't last long. His heart sank when she took a menacing step towards him, saying:

"I think not, Cole Turner."

Cole knew he wouldn't be able to beat her with his newly acquired powers; hoping they'd be enough to keep her busy until the others came to his aid, though, he raised his hands and focused on air, the only element currently available. A blast of wind engulfed the woman, and even if it wasn't strong enough to push her away, as Cole had wished it would, it made enough of a fuss to confuse her, and he slowly started to back away from her, towards the kitchen's door, while she fought to take her red mane off her eyes and struggled against the angry wind. Unfortunately for Cole, as he was walking backwards and with his eyes trained on her, he ended up stepping on the plastic bag containing Ben's toys; as the bag slipped under his feet, he franticly swayed his arms, trying to regain his balance, thus losing control of the wind. He fell backwards, hitting his head heavily against the wall behind him, and before he could stumble back to his feet the woman jumped towards him with a shriek of anger and grabbed the front of his shirt, effortlessly lifting him from the floor.

Cole gasped and his eyes widened in terror when she waved her free hand towards the floor and a portal was opened next to them, showing the same dark abyss from which Leo had rescued him almost two years ago, when the Source was vanquished.

"The Whitelighter won't help you this time," she hissed. And then, to Cole's surprise and relief, she froze in place.

"Cole?" -- before Piper could reach them, Cole had already scrambled from his attacker's grip and gotten back to his feet, quickly walking away from her and towards his very worried sister in law.

"Are you okay?" Piper asked.

"Yes. But that was close," he said, staring at the place where the pits of hell had been opened for him just a few seconds before.

"Do you know who she is?" Piper asked, looking at the frozen woman.

"No. But I know **_what _**she is," Cole said, and the grimness in his voice made Piper turn her eyes back to him with an interrogative look.

Before she could question him further, though, Phoebe entered the room like a bolt, coming from the kitchen. As she slammed the door open, both Cole and Piper swirled towards her with a start, thus turning their backs to the frozen demoness.

"Baby, are you okay?" she asked, as she threw her arms around Cole. "I was across the street, borrowing a few more cardboard boxes from... Watch out!" -- she pointed at the demoness, who had just unfrozen.

Before Piper could freeze the demoness again, though, she glared at the three people staring at her across the room and vanished in another puff of white smoke.

"Who was..." Phoebe started to ask, but Cole cut her off.

"Family meeting," he said, gravely. "Manor. Now."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ten minutes later, they were gathered in the solarium, waiting for Leo, with Ben sitting on the floor next to Phoebe's chair, playing with a set of colorful blocks.

As Leo orbed in, he said, sitting by Piper's side:

"Sorry, it was an emergency. I came back as soon as I could; is everyone okay?"

"Uh, yes," Phoebe said, casting a slightly worried look towards Cole's serious expression. "Baby?" she called.

Cole had been pacing back and forth across the room, impatiently waiting for Leo to come back. As Phoebe called him, he sat by her side and she took his left hand in hers.

He took a deep breath before addressing the four people whose concerned eyes were turned towards him.

"Alright," he said, looking at them, "which of you sent a vengeance demon after me?"


	2. Which one?

"Ah... what?!?" Paige stammered as she finally found her voice again, staring at Cole in incredulous shock.

"Cole, you can't be serious!" Piper exclaimed. "Do you really think..."

"How can I **_not _**be serious, Piper?" Cole snapped. "Did that demon seem to be kidding?"

Piper's hurt look made Cole wince, but he refused to be mollified and stubbornly stood his ground. One of them had sent a vengeance demon after him, damn it, and even if he truly believed that they had been tricked into doing that, he also knew that vengeance demons couldn't create resentment where there was none: they could only manipulate the bitter feelings that someone already had, and it hurt like hell to know that one of them felt that way about him.

"You really believe one of us sent a demon after you," Leo said quietly as he put his arm around Piper's shoulders.

Cole closed his eyes and ran his free hand across his face, while the other was still clasped in Phoebe's hands; he looked at her and felt a pang of guilt as he saw the hurt and confusion in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he sighed.

He hesitated slightly, then gently freed his hand from hers to put his arm around her shoulders and pull her to him.

"I'm sorry, I..." -- he looked at the others, somewhat ashamed of his previous outburst -- "I shouldn't have put it this way. I know none of you would knowingly send a vengeance demon after me."

Cole fingered Phoebe's hair, looking down at her with a sad expression.

"Yet, one of you did."

"Yeah, right," Paige said, scowling as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "'Cause that's what we do. We're always sending demons after people, one of us must have sent one after you by mistake, without even noticing."

Cole was about to give Paige's sarcastic remark a sharp reply when Leo broke in:

"Cole, how could we have unknowingly sent a vengeance demon after you?"

Cole opened his mouth to answer, but as the meaning of Leo's words sank in, he took a sharp intake of breath.

"You don't know..." -- he gave the others a hesitant look -- "None of you know what a vengeance demon is, do you?"

"No," Paige said, coldly, "but I'd say the name is self-explaining."

Cole sighed heavily, exasperated. It wasn't fair: so he had handled the situation poorly, but he still was the offended party, for crying out loud!

Leo stood up, once again intervening before things got out of hand.

"Clearly, we don't," he said to Cole, while taking a step forward to stand between him and Paige. "And since we're gonna have to deal with this one, why don't you enlighten us?"

"Please, Cole," Phoebe asked, quietly.

Cole looked at her and leaned down to press a soft kiss to her forehead. It couldn't have been her. Not Phoebe, who had always supported him no matter what, who had been forced to make the hardest choices in those three years they had spent together, and had always stood by his side. Sure, there had been some rough moments, first with Belthazor, later with the Source, and all the time with their hot tempers, but Phoebe never held anything back: if she had something to say, she would say it loud and clear -- very loud, sometimes -- but their fights never lasted long. No matter how angry they were, he and Phoebe never went to sleep without making up; they had spent too many lonely nights apart when he was on the run, and now the moment when they went to bed together and cuddled in each other's arms under the covers, feeling warm, and cozy, and loved, and safe, that had become somewhat of a symbol of the happiness they had so painfully earned.

He looked at the others and felt his heart wrench: how could it have been any of them? Cole lowered his eyes to Piper's hands, crossed over her belly, and thought, not for the first time, of how fragile and at the same time incredibly strong she looked in her last weeks of pregnancy. After that first riotous year that had followed Prue's death, Piper had finally made her peace with the big sister role, and now she ruled the manor with a strong hand, but it was a loving, motherly tyranny that the others gladly suffered.

If Phoebe could bat her eyelashes and have Cole do anything she wanted, Piper bossed him around openly. She was the one who made him eat properly when he was sick and grouchy, and had no appetite. She shooed him out of the manor, sending him to the market or to the post office when she decided that he needed some fresh air after working all day on a difficult case. When the Source was vanquished and Cole and Phoebe came back to the manor, Piper could have either made his life a living hell or taken him under her wings as she did with the rest of the family, and Cole could never be thankful enough that she had chosen the second option.

He saw Leo sit by her side again and wrap his arms protectively around her, and felt abashed to think that his brother in law had been able to keep his composure while he, Cole, lost his own. Leo rarely raised his voice and usually managed to remain calm even when everything seemed to be going to hell, which was quite a big deal in a house full of hot tempered Halliwells and Turners. He was also a great listener, and on those first weeks after the Source's vanquish, when nightmares had haunted Cole's sleep and made him wake up screaming almost every night, he had sat by Leo's side on the back porch and told him about those nightmares, feeling the horrors they brought slowly vanish as they were put in words. It had been a pleasant surprise for Cole to learn that, despite Leo's righteousness, the Whitelighter didn't take himself too seriously and could laugh at himself. The two men had grown closer as time went on, and their somewhat opposite natures seemed to counterpoint each other.

Finally, he turned his eyes to Paige, who was fuming, looking more like Prue than ever as she glared at him for daring to think that she'd do such a thing as send a vengeance demon after him, and in her anger looking very much like a vengeance demon herself. Cole sighed: things had never been easy between him and the youngest Halliwell, and he doubted Paige would easily forgive what she saw as a shameful lack of trust from his part. They had walked a long way since the time when she was always ready to rub his evil past in his face and he saw her as little more than an annoying replacement for her also very annoying older sister, and Cole hated to think that the present incident might take them back to the old days. He and Paige disagreed on almost everything, bickered at each other on a regular bases, fought over the remote, the last piece of pie and the Sunday paper. He forgot to give her phone messages and she borrowed his books while he was still reading them, usually dropping the bookmark. Still, Cole cared for the girl that was the closest thing to a baby sister he'd ever had, and he knew that it went both ways: even now it was clear that most of Paige's anger came from hurt.

Cole sighed and rubbed his temples. His mind told him that one of them had sent a vengeance demon after him, but his heart told him that it just couldn't have been. Or was it just wishful thought?

"Cole?"

When Phoebe's voice brought him back to reality, Cole realized that he must've been lost in his musings longer than he thought, because the others were staring at him with slightly confused looks on their faces.

"Uh... sorry," he said, mildly embarrassed.

He cleared his throat and started to explain:

"Vengeance demons, they are... well, they're called demons for the lack of a better name, but they have some peculiarities that make them very different from the demons you're used to dealing with. For starters, they prefer to call themselves 'justice demons'." -- Cole shrugged at their raised eyebrows -- "Well, they do. They don't see themselves as evil, because they only use their powers to grant a vengeance wish to someone who has been wronged."

"Sort of like the Furies?" Phoebe asked.

"Sort of. But, for the Furies, punishing evil doers is a calling and, for vengeance demons, it's a job."

"A job," Leo repeated, surprised.

"Well, yes. With a salary, and a boss, and a very strict set of rules. And rule number one is, they can only use their powers on behalf of someone else. That demoness couldn't have come after me if someone hadn't sent her; her powers simply wouldn't have worked if she had tried."

"Okay," Leo slowly said, nodding. "So, someone sent her. But why one of us, Cole?" he asked, and Cole could feel the tension in the room start to rise again. "Of all people, why would you think..."

"You don't understand, Leo," Cole said, cutting him off. "Vengeance demons can only grant wishes to humans. No demon, warlock or whatever evil thing you can think of could have sent her."

"What about all the people you hurt as a demon?" Paige said. "There was a whole lot of them," she added, bitterly.

"You don't need to remind me that," Cole said, quietly. "Yet, I know that it wasn't any of them. For one, she addressed me as Cole, not Belthazor."

He hesitated, subconsciously tugging on the fringe of Phoebe's jacket. Being almost dragged back to hell by the vengeance demon had been bad enough: silly as it might be, he just didn't want to say it out loud. Yet he knew that he didn't actually have a choice: if they were to help him, they'd have to know.

"Someone wished Leo hadn't saved me when I was vanquished along with the Source," he blurted out.

Phoebe gasped and clung to him as if fearing that the vengeance demon would come back to finish the job right there and then. Cole, on the other hand, was looking at Paige as he spoke, and his stomach churned as he saw the horrified look she exchanged with Piper.

"Did you...?" he asked, his voice trailing off before he could finish the sentence, looking in dismay from one sister to the other.

"No!" Piper quickly said. But she had guilt written all over her face, and so did Paige.

The sight of them made Phoebe draw a sharp intake of breath.

"Piper!" she exclaimed, shocked.

"It wasn't me!" Piper said, with tears popping to her eyes. "I didn't... I never... Oh, God!" -- she turned to her husband with a helpless look.

Leo put his arms around her again, while saying, in a worried voice:

"Honey, I thought you had taken care of it..."

"I thought I had..." Piper moaned. Then, turning back to Cole: "Oh, Cole, I'm so sorry! I never meant... **_we_** never meant..."

Cole felt his head spin. It was a nightmare. It had to be. Not one of them, but **_all_** of them. He tried to speak, actually opened his mouth, but couldn't find his voice, and finally closed it again, looking at them in utter shock.

"It wasn't us," Paige whispered sadly, all anger gone now.

"No one else knows what happened that day," Phoebe said, hoarsely.

"Dad does," Piper said in a weak voice.

"What!" Phoebe exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock. "How... You told dad?!? Piper, we talked about that, everyone agreed that we shouldn't tell him. How could you..."

"We didn't tell him, Phoebe," Paige explained. "He overheard Piper and I talking about that."

"Talking about what?"

"The whole possession by the Source thing," Piper said. "It wasn't just about you Cole," she quickly said, giving him a pained look. "If he had arrived a few minutes earlier he would've learnt how I almost slashed the entire family as a Fury, or..."

"What do you mean, the **_whole_** possession by the Source thing?" Phoebe said, warily. "What does dad know?"

"Everything," Paige said in a tiny voice.

"Dad knows I was Queen of All Evil???????" Phoebe shouted, loud enough to make Ben raise his head from his blocks and give her a scared look. The tension building among the grown ups hadn't remained unnoticed by him, and he whimpered, disturbed.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry," Phoebe said, promptly scooping him up and cuddling him in her arms. "Mommy didn't mean to upset you."

Ben hid his face against her, expressing his discontentment with mumbled noises, and Phoebe stroked his hair and rocked him gently, while turning her eyes back to Piper.

"I'm sorry," Piper said again. "I didn't tell you anything because I didn't want to upset you, and I honestly believed I had managed to make dad understand."

"I know," Phoebe sighed, offering her sister a weak smile. "How mad was he?" she asked, although dreading the answer.

"Very mad," Paige said, grimacing. "I didn't know humans could get **_that _**red."

"Oh, Paige! Why were you talking about it when dad was in the house, for God's sake?" Phoebe said.

"They didn't know he was in the house," Leo said, embarrassed. "I was the one who let him in, but then the Elders called..." -- he sighed -- "I told him that Piper and Paige were in the kitchen and orbed out. I'm sorry," he added, sadly. "If I knew they were talking about that..."

Cole closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch.

"God, I'm **_so _**dead..." he moaned.

"I'm sure Victor will..." Leo started.

"Leo, I was the Source of All Evil," Cole said, gloomily. "I married his baby daughter in a dark ceremony and took her to the Underworld to be my queen. Whitelighter or not, you're now his favorite son in law," he quipped with a humorless smile.

"I'm gonna call dad," Phoebe said, standing up.

"What?" -- Cole gave her a surprised look.

"I'm gonna talk to him," she said, already walking towards the phone, with Ben in her arms. "He needs to take back this wish. We'll deal with the rest later, but right now he..."

"Phoebe, wait," Cole said, jumping to his feet and stopping her before she reached the phone. "It doesn't work this way. Once you've made a wish for a vengeance demon, you can't take it back."

"You can't?"

"You can't," he repeated, quietly.

Phoebe sighed and leaned against him as he put his arms around her and brought her closer.

"Fine," she said. "Then we vanquish her first, and talk to dad later."

Right now, talking to his very enraged father in law was the last thing Cole wanted to do, but he elected to save that discussion for later and deal with the more pressing matter of vanquishing his foe first.

"Right," he said. "Vanquish her."

"Vengeance demons **_can_** be vanquished, right?" Piper asked, warily.

"I don't know about vanquishing," Cole said, scratching his head. "But every vengeance demon has a power center, usually in the form of a necklace. If we destroy her power center, she'll lose her powers and thus become harmless."

"Harmless works for me," Phoebe said. She let Cole lead her back to the couch and sat there by his side.

She looked at Ben, expecting to see him scramble from her arms to go back to his toys, but the toddler chose to stay on her lap. As he pouted, reaching out for a hair strand and fumbling with it, Phoebe sighed and gently kissed the top of his head: clearly, he was still upset, and she couldn't blame him.

"Well, we can't just sit here and wait for her to come back," Piper said. "Especially now that she knows that we're witches: she'll try to find Cole alone, or she might come in the middle of the night, when we're all sleeping."

"Can she be summoned?" Phoebe asked Cole.

"I think so," he said. "But I don't know how."

"Well, let's see what the Book of Shadows has to say, then," Paige said, standing up.

"Leo?" Piper said.

"I know," he said, standing up, too. "Elders."


	3. Extraordinary times, extraordinary measu...

Note #1: Sorry for the delay, guys! You know how real life can be... The Easter holidays are close, now, and I'll try to catch up on my writing then. Also, Fanfiction.net was behaving really weird for the last couple of days: I had chapter 3 ready since Sunday, but I just couldn't upload it until today.

Note #2: My stories are also posted among Jolynn's Charming Tales, on www.charmedweb.com; you can always look for new chapters there.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"A sigil?" Phoebe said.

"Exactly," Leo said, nodding.

They were in the attic now; Paige had just closed the Book of Shadows, after searching vainly for information on vengeance demons, when Leo orbed back with the information provided by the Elders.

"It's like a magical signature," he explained, "an unique code that identifies each vengeance demon."

"So," Cole said, "if we know that demoness' sigil, we can summon her?"

He grimaced as Ben tapped the top of his head with great enthusiasm. It hadn't been easy to convince the toddler to stay in one of the grown ups' arms instead of on the floor, exploring the attic. They never let him be on his own here -- too many dangerous things for curious little hands to grab -- and that only increased Ben's fascination over it. He had protested and squirmed until Cole took him from Phoebe's arms and put him on his shoulders, where he now sat happily, bouncing up and down and occasionally smashing daddy's head.

"According to the Elders, yes," Leo said.

"But how do we find out her sigil?" Piper asked, placing her hands on her hips. "She didn't exactly leave a business card."

"That, they don't know," Leo said. "I'm sorry," he added, shrugging at their disappointed expressions. "Most of what they know about vengeance demons is stuff Cole has already told us."

"You know," Cole said, pensively, "the Elders may not know her sigil, but I bet other vengeance demons do. Or at least have the means to find out."

"Cole, I don't see how that helps," Phoebe said, giving him a skeptical look. "Why would a demon provide the information that would help us go after one of their peers?"

"As I said before, vengeance demons aren't like other demons," Cole retorted. "They don't have the same instinctive aversion to good doers, because they don't see themselves as evil doers, but as magical creatures with magical jobs. And since vengeance demons can only use their powers against the one they were sent after, the worst thing she can do is say no."

"I still don't... spider web, spider web!" -- Phoebe pointed at a web that hung from the ceiling right above Cole's head, and to which Ben was reaching out.

Cole quickly moved away from it, much to Ben's disappointment, and Phoebe took the toddler from his arms, saying with feign sternness:

"No more riding on daddy's shoulders for you, mister."

Ben's shirt had risen up with the movement, revealing a chubby belly that just begged to be tickled, and Phoebe squeezed it gently, making Ben squeal and laugh. She gave him a sound kiss and said:

"Now, be a good boy and let mommy and daddy work, okay?"

"'Kay!" Ben chirped, giggling as they rubbed noses.

Phoebe shifted Ben to her hip, and was amused to see him start fiddling his fingers and humming what seemed to be his very own version of "Itsy-Bitsy Spider". Ben was a good boy who usually tried to do as his mommy and daddy said but, being only thirteen months old, his attention span was very short, and he often managed to stay quiet for no more than ten minutes before starting to fuss again. Phoebe sighed and smiled affectionately at him: raising that lively, curious little boy of hers would have been some task even under normal circumstances, but in a house where demons and warlocks dropped by unannounced, magic potions boiled on the stove, mommy and daddy fought with swords in the basement while Auntie Paige practiced her spells in the attic, it was an exercise of creativity, resourcefulness and patience.

She and Cole were only waiting for Ben's powers to start developing in order to bind them, but that didn't mean that they intended to keep him in the dark about his heritage and his destiny. They wanted him to learn about magic as a part of his life, and so they made sure he was around while his family was writing spells, making potions, scrying for evil and discussing strategies. Not that leaving him out would've been easy, anyway: Ben could usually sense when something important was going on, and he protested vehemently against being left behind.

"I still don't see why she would help," she began again, sobering as she turned back to Cole. "I mean, even if she doesn't loathe us because we're good, why would she bother helping us?"

"We're not talking about a random vengeance demon here, are we?" Leo said, giving Cole a curious look. "You have someone in mind. Someone whose sigil you know," he added, his eyebrows shooting up as comprehension sank in.

Cole scratched his head, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Well, yes," he said. The others gave him inquisitive looks and he added, shrugging: "There's this demoness... she used to be, hum, friends with my mother."

Leo grunted, clearly not thrilled with the idea of asking a demon for help, and Cole let out a slightly impatient sigh.

"It's safe," Cole insisted. "Besides, am I wrong or is this the closest thing to a plan we currently have?"

Leo sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He knew it was true; they were going to give Cole's plan a shot, if not for any other reason than for the lack of a better one. But that didn't mean he was comfortable with it. Sure, he trusted Cole's judgment, and he knew that his brother in law would die before wittingly putting his family in danger. But Leo had been in the business of counseling and guiding witches for a long time now, and he found it utterly unsettling that this charge of his had been around for a lot more time than he had, dwelling in worlds he had never been, and dealing with creatures he didn't even know existed. He was supposed to give advice, but how could he, when his charge knew more about the creatures they were facing than he, the Whitelighter, did?

"If you're sure about this," he finally said, unwillingly.

"I'm not sure it'll work," Cole admitted, while walking towards an old desk on top of which rested a notepad and a pencil. "But I'm sure it can't make things any worse."

Piper placed her hand on Leo's arm and squeezed it gently. She knew how disturbing this was for him, and even if she was willing to try Cole's idea, she offered her husband a sympathetic smile and cuddled up with him as he put one arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him.

"What's this?" Phoebe said, peering at the notepad and at the runic symbols Cole was writing on it.

"An idiom that was already dead when your ancestor Melinda Warren was born," he told her as he tore the page out of the notepad and handed it to her.

While Leo was with the Elders, Piper had gathered a few ingredients that she thought might be useful, and Phoebe had worked on a spell to summon the vengeance demon. Now Phoebe handed Ben back to Cole, accepted the piece of paper from him and took another one, containing the summoning spell, from the back pocket of her jeans.

"Do you think we'll need the Power of Three?" she asked Cole.

"Quite on the contrary," Cole said. "Each vengeance demon has an... area of expertise, and this one avenges women who were wronged by their men. She might be suspicious if she hears more than one voice chanting."

"Okay, I'll do it, then," Phoebe said. "Leo, would you take Ben downstairs?"

"Actually, I don't think that will be necessary," Cole said, whilst letting Leo take Ben from his arms.

"Excuse me?" -- Phoebe gave him a surprised look.

"I told you," he explained, "the powers of a vengeance demon won't work unless she's granting someone a wish. Even the one who's after me won't harm any of you until you try to stop her from getting to me."

Phoebe looked from him to Ben, unsure. They did their best to spare the toddler from the ugliest aspects of the magic world: so far he had witnessed only a couple of vanquishes that didn't seem to have made a quite a bad impression on him. Actually, the one time he had seem Piper blow up a demon he had clapped his hands in delight and asked for more. He didn't seem to see any difference between an ugly demon with long dirty claws being turned into ashes by one of mommy's fire balls and Daffy Duck being hit in the head by an anvil, and Phoebe doubted he understood that, unlike Daffy Duck, the demon wouldn't be alive and kicking on the next episode.

"Are you sure?" she asked, while reaching out to stop Ben as he raised his foot and leaned down to try and get rid of his shoe.

"Absolutely," Cole said.

He gently fondled Ben's hair and added:

"You know I don't take chances with this little guy."

"I know," Phoebe sighed. "Still, Leo, stay to the back, okay?"

"I will," Leo said. "Come on, tiger," he playfully said to Ben. "Let's watch as your mommy summons a demon."

Ben perked up as he heard the magic word: demon! That usually meant that mommy was going to make fire balls, Aunt Piper was going to explode things and Aunt Paige was going to do the funny blue sparkling thing. Unfortunately, he never got to see much of it, because either daddy or Uncle Leo always left the room with him, but even that could be fun when it was Uncle Leo's turn to take him out of the room.

"O'b?" he asked, giving Leo a hopeful look.

Leo hesitated. Sometimes he orbed around the house with his little nephew just for fun. It was totally against the rules, but Ben loved it so much, he just couldn't say no.

"Well... maybe later," he said. "If you're a good boy now and stay really, really quiet until the demon is gone. Can you do that? Can you be a good boy for Uncle Leo?"

Ben nodded his head vigorously, and Leo smiled.

"That's the spirit. Now, remember: very quiet."

"Shhhh!" -- Ben mindfully placed his index finger over his mouth.

"Exactly," Leo said, chuckling.

Phoebe smiled at her baby boy and started lighting the candles around the pentagram that she had drawn on the floor while Leo was with the Elders, and Paige took a bowl containing saffron thistles and placed it on the center of the pentagram. Phoebe then placed the piece of paper containing the sigil among the thistles, lighted a match and set them on fire. As the soft scent of saffron began to rise along with the smoke, she read the spell to summon Anyanka, patroness of scorned women.

The air flickered inside the pentagram, and the candles burnt stronger. Then, as the air settled again, all the candles burnt out, one by one. When the last candle burnt out, a short, olive skinned woman appeared on the center of the pentagram in a puff of white smoke.

"Hi!" Ben cheerfully greeted, and Leo quickly shushed him, taking one step back and giving the newcomer a nervous apologizing smile.

She gave him a cold look before turning her attention back to Phoebe:

"You called me."

"Yes, but..."

"And what are those people" -- she motioned towards the others -- "doing here? Especially the men? I only grant wishes for women."

"I, uh... Cole?" -- Phoebe elbowed him, a hint of impatience in her voice. The idea of summoning a vengeance demon had been his, why was he letting her deal with the woman?

"You're not Anyanka," Cole finally said, giving the demoness an intrigued look.

The demoness glared at him, clearly annoyed by his addressing her.

"I don't see how my name is any of your business, mister. I only work for women." -- she squinted her eyes, giving him a suspicious look -- "You're not...?"

"No!" Cole and Phoebe both said at the same time.

"Wait a minute! Is he your man?" the demoness asked Phoebe, pointing at Cole.

"Yes, but..."

"And you summoned me knowingly to him?" -- the demoness raised her eyebrows -- "That's unusual."

"This is not what you're thinking," Phoebe quickly said. "I don't want vengeance against my husband."

"Then why did you make me waste my time coming here?" the demoness snapped, scowling.

"She didn't summon you," Cole insisted. "She summoned Anyanka."

"She summoned a demoness that grants vengeance wishes for scorned women," the demoness hissed. "And that's what I am. Now, if my services aren't needed..."

She made a flourish gesture with her right hand, intending to leave, but Cole quickly asked:

"Does D'Hoffryn know you've stolen Anyanka's sigil?"

As he had expected, that made her stop mid vanish and glare at him.

"D'Hoffryn **_gave _**it to me," she said, coldly. "The position was vacant: Anyanka is no longer a vengeance demon."

"Why not?" Cole asked, surprised.

"Now, why would I tell you?" she asked, impatiently.

"I, uh..." -- Cole sighed and ran his hand through his hair -- "Look," he said, conciliatory, "Anyanka and I go way back. I need to talk to her, and that's why we summoned her today... or at least I thought we were summoning her."

"Too bad," the demoness snorted. "Because Anyanka can't be summoned anymore. Unless you know how to summon humans."

"Humans??"

"She's human now. Stupid girl had her power center destroyed and lost her powers."

"She lost her..." Cole exhaled loudly, shocked. "Wow," he uttered in a low voice.

"So, now, if you'll excuse me..." the demoness started again.

"Wait!" Cole exclaimed, and she gave him an annoyed look.

"Do you know where she lives now?" he asked.

She gave him an incredulous look.

"You don't really think I'll tell you, do you?"

"Well, then..." -- Cole scratched his head -- "Would you give her a message? Ask her to give me a call?"

Leo nearly choked at that and Phoebe's eyes opened as wide as possible, but Cole pursued:

"Tell her that, uh, Belthazor needs to talk to her, and leave it to her choice whether to call me or not. Would you do that?"

"Cole, what are you doing?" Phoebe whispered between clenched teeth, tugging on the sleeve of his jacket.

"She's a demoness, not a telemarketer," Cole whispered back at her, without taking his eyes off the vengeance demon. "I don't think giving her our phone number will make things any worse."

The demoness watched him with a doubtful expression for a long moment. Finally, she sighed heavily and asked:

"Alright, what's the number?"

As Cole reached out for the notepad again, Piper broke in:

"Write the number of the manor."

He gave her a surprised look and she proceeded:

"You're not moving out before the, hum, situation is dealt with."

Cole gave Leo an interrogative look and the Whitelighter nodded.

"Piper is right," he said. "This is not the time for us to split forces. So, if you **_must _**give her a phone number..." he sighed, leaving the sentence hanging, and motioning for Cole to go ahead.

Cole wrote down the phone number, tore the page out of the notepad and handed it to the demoness, who took it and shoved it into the folds of her dress without giving it a second look.

"Is that all?" she asked, with unconcealed impatience.

"Can you tell her that it's urgent?" Cole asked.

"Humans!..." the demoness snorted, rolling her eyes. "Everything's urgent for you!"

Then, before he could reply, she was gone in another puff of smoke.

For a moment, they all just stared at the spot where she had just stood, unsure. Finally, Paige said:

"Now, what?"

"Well..." Cole sighed. "Now, we wait, I guess. I'm afraid that was my best shot," he added, shrugging.

"There must be something else we can do," Piper said, frowning, "besides waiting for some ex-demon to come to our help. No offense," she quickly added.

"None taken," Cole said. "But right now, I can't think of anything else."

"Well," Paige said, while picking up the candles from the floor, "even if this Anyanka girl knows the sigil of the demoness who's after you, and is willing to cooperate, we still need a plan. I mean, it's not like we can just go, _hey, nice necklace, can I take a closer look at it? oops! it's gone!_"

"Besides," Phoebe reasoned, taking the bowl containing the burnt thistles and handing it to Piper, "the vengeance demon might come back for you before we even have a chance to summon her. We must be prepared for that, too."

"Let's talk about that in the kitchen, then, shall we?" Piper said, while she received the bowl from Phoebe's hands. "It's almost noon, I should be making lunch now."

"Honey, if you'd rather order something..." Leo started, but she dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand.

"Nah, you know I think better when I'm cooking," she said with a smile.

Piper and Paige left the attic, but as Leo prepared to follow them, Ben tugged on his jacked.

"O'b," he said, firmly. He had been a good boy, and he had remained -- almost -- quiet, just like they had told him to, and now it was time for Uncle Leo to live up to his part of the bargain. One thing that Uncle Leo didn't seem to learn was that little boys had excellent memories when it came to the promises grown ups made to them.

"Just to the living room," Leo said, giving Phoebe and Cole a sheepish smile.

Phoebe smiled back at him and nodded. She caught sight of Ben's bare feet just a second before he and Leo disappeared in a swirl of blue lights.

"How he does it, I don't know..." she muttered while she and Cole picked up the discarded shoes from the attic's floor.


	4. Family interlude

Cole raised his eyes from the newspaper when Phoebe entered the living room.

"Is he asleep?" he asked.

"At last," she sighed as she sat by his side on the couch. "He was very excited, with everything that happened this morning."

It had taken her a good thirty minutes to tuck Ben in; yet, she'd have gladly spent twice as much time lulling him with soft words and lullabies, just so that he didn't skip his afternoon nap. Ben wasn't prone to temper tantrums, but he could have major ones if his sleep schedule was thrown off.

"Do you think he was scared?" Leo asked as he turned off the TV.

"Not at all," Phoebe said, smiling and shaking her head. "Actually, I think he found it all very interesting."

Leo smiled, too; he opened his mouth to say something else, but then he perked up and listened for a moment, before turning to Phoebe again.

"A charge is calling," he explained. "Can you stay here with Cole?" he asked, watching with some amusement as Cole shifted position on the sofa, annoyed.

"We'll be fine, Leo, thanks," Phoebe said. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she could hardly suppress a giggle at the look on Cole's face. They had discussed the situation over lunch and, despite his protests, the others had agreed that he shouldn't be left alone until the vengeance demon was no longer a threat.

After Leo orbed out, Cole sighed and turned to Phoebe, putting the newspaper aside.

"Baby, this is ridiculous," he said. "There's no need for you to take turns babysitting me."

"Cole, we're talking about a demoness who can track you down wherever you are," Phoebe said, promptly sobering, "and who's powerful enough to unleash hell on you -- literally. Wouldn't you do the same if she was after me?"

"Yes, but..."

"But nothing," she said, cutting him off. "You're every bit as important to me as I am to you, Cole Turner," she said, seriously, "and I am not taking any chances here."

Phoebe moved closer to Cole and hugged him, resting her head on his chest; she smiled and closed her eyes as she felt Cole's arms wrap tightly around her. After a while, though, she raised her head to face him.

"You believe that, don't you?" she asked, quietly.

"Believe what?"

"That I love you as much as you love me."

"Yes, baby," he said, touching her face. "I know you do. You show it to me in a hundred different ways, every single day."

He reached out to play with a brown strand of hair, curling it around his finger, and added, knowing exactly where that sudden insecurity was coming from:

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

"Don't be," Phoebe said firmly, shaking her head.

She took the hand that was toying with her hair and kissed its knuckles, one by one, before looking at him again.

"Don't be," she said again. "I wish you didn't feel this way but, since you do, I'm glad you've said it. I don't want you to keep things from me; we both know how that can end."

"You would never make that wish, Phoebe. I know that. It's just..." -- he pulled her closer again, closing his eyes as he rested his chin on her head -- "I was really scared, baby. I don't have the words to tell you how much."

"I know," she whispered, rubbing his forearm and shoulder, feeling the tension in them. "But she won't lay her clutches on you, baby, I promise you that. That part of our lives is over, for good. You're safe now; you're home."

"I'm home," he repeated after her, savoring the word. Home: he could never get tired of that little word. That little wonderful, warm, welcoming word.

"I know," he said softly, kissing the top of her head and pulling her to his lap, where she snuggled, contently. "I know, baby."

"Hell can't have you, Cole," Phoebe insisted, her head still resting on his chest, "Hell is for evil, and there's nothing evil about you. And if the gates of hell as much as try to close on you, I'm gonna break them down myself in order to let you out."

The last sentence was said with such fiery determination, that Cole couldn't help but smile as he gently tipped her chin.

"Hell hath no fury like an angry Halliwell," he said, only half joking.

"That's right," she said, nodding. "And yet another demon is about to learn that -- in a very painful way."

Cole leaned down to kiss her, his beautiful, strong, passionate Halliwell, who had already descended to Hell to rescue him once, when Raynor had took him back to the Underworld, a modern-day Eurydice saving her Orpheus, instead of the other way around. All worries and fears flew out of his mind as their mouths joined in a long, loving kiss, and he held her tight against his heart, knowing in every fiber of his being that this was, indeed, the safest place for him to be: close to Phoebe.

When the kiss ended, they didn't pull apart; Cole rested his forehead on Phoebe's, blue eyes locked in brown ones, and they just sat like that, reveling in each other's closeness. He raised one hand to brush his finger along her cheekbone, all the way down to her chin, then gently traced the line of her lips, his finger following their upward curve as she smiled at him.

"I love you," he said softly, smiling back at her.

"That's good to know," she said, tilting her head to kiss the palm of the hand that was now cupping her face. "Because I love you, too," she proceeded, staring straight into his eyes again. "Very, very, very, much," she finished, punctuating each word with a light kiss on his lips.

Cole leaned down to capture her lips again, but this time they were interrupted by Piper's calling from the kitchen:

"Phoebe! Phone call!"

Phoebe sighed and rolled her eyes; then she smiled and pecked Cole on the lips once more.

"Hold that thought," she said as she stood up. "I'll get it here!" she yelled towards the kitchen.

"Hello," she said as she picked up the phone. "Hi, Elaine!" she greeted, smiling as she recognized her co-worker's voice.

Cole watched her for a while, smiling at the way she paced back and forth as far as the phone cord allowed her, but as it became clear that Elaine was going to give Phoebe a full report of her date of last night, he stood up, knowing that this would be a long phone call.

When Phoebe saw him head out of the room she gave him an alarmed look and made a move to stop him.

"Kitchen," he said, pointing at the door. "Piper is there."

As she nodded and blew him a kiss, he smiled and left the room, stopping only to kiss her forehead as he walked past her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Piper took the cake out of the oven and placed it on the kitchen table. As she caught the movement with the corner of her eye, she raised her eyes from the cake to see Cole standing at the doorway, watching her.

"Hey," she said, quietly.

"Hey," he said, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning on the doorframe.

They stood like that for an awkward moment, staring at each other with some uneasiness, until Piper picked up a bowl that was resting on the counter and started to gingerly spread chocolate topping over the cake.

"So," she said after a few seconds, with her eyes trained on the cake, "are you still upset with me for spilling the beans with dad?"

"Well..." Cole said, "are you still upset with me for thinking you would send a vengeance demon after me?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Piper asked, taking her eyes off the cake to give him an uncertain look. "That we're even?"

"No. It means... hum... I guess, that we both know that even if sometimes people screw up, it doesn't mean that they don't care about each other. 'Cause..." -- he took his hands off his pockets, seemed not to know what to do with them, and finally dug them into his pockets again -- "we do. Care." -- he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, casting her a sheepish glance -- "Right?"

Piper couldn't help but smile at the tall man, twice her size, and several times her age, who was standing before her, nervously waiting for her reaction. She knew that this was quite a big step for Cole, to talk about his feelings for someone other than Phoebe and Ben, and Piper found it endearing that the man who had looked death in the eye more than once without blinking might experience such fear of rejection. Yet she could understand why this was unfamiliar terrain to him: evil didn't have to worry about rejection, since you can't be rejected if you don't give yourself first.

"Yes, Cole," she said, softly. "We do care about each other."

Cole let out his breath with a short, almost inaudible sigh of relief, and took a couple of steps, closing the gap between them. As he stood before Piper, he made a move towards her and then stepped back with a slightly puzzled look on his face. Piper looked at him, intrigued, and noticed that he was staring at her stomach, frowning.

"Are you HUGE!" Cole exclaimed. He cautiously circled her very pregnant belly until he could carefully put his arms around her for an awkward hug.

Piper considered taking offense at his outburst regarding her looks, but she had to admit that she was indeed huge, and since all the mood swings and insecurities that usually followed pregnancy were, in her case, part of Leo's bundle of joy, she wasn't particularly sensitive about comments on her size, and could take them lightly. So, she giggled as she snaked one arm around Cole's waist and reached out to fondle his shoulder with her free hand.

"Melinda is big," she corrected him, nevertheless. "I'm just making room for her."

Cole chuckled and kissed the top of her head before pulling back, and she asked, smiling:

"Wanna scrape the bowl before I wash it?"

"Sure!" he promptly said, reaching out for the chocolate smeared bowl.

Cole sat at the kitchen table, took the spoon that Piper handed him and proceeded to scrape the chocolate mix off the bowl, while she started to wash the utensils that she had just used.

"Do you want some help?" he asked after some time.

"Please don't!" Piper exclaimed, raising her hands with feign horror. "You've already broken enough dishes this month."

"Now, that was just rude!" protested the man who had broken two cups, one plate and three glasses during the past twenty days.

"Yeah, right," she said, with a mocking smile. "Just finish your chocolate so that I can wash the bowl."

"You're an extremely bossy woman, you know," he muttered, giving her a reproachful look. "Even for the Halliwell standards."

"Big sister's privilege..." she lilted, lightly, while turning her attention to the dishes again.

"Yeah, right! Piper, I'm one hundred and nineteen years old, in case you have forgotten," Cole said, with an amused smile.

"Whatever," she said, turning around to face him. "You married my little sister. Besides," she added, giggling, "it doesn't exactly help your case when you have chocolate all over your face."

Cole took the paper towel she was offering and used it to rub his face clean, keeping his composure the best he could, while she finished, with a mocking smile:

"You're stuck with me, little brother. Get over it."

With that, Piper turned towards the sink again, while Cole made a big deal of showing his resignation letting out a dramatic heavy sigh.

"What time is it?" Piper asked, ignoring his taunting.

"It's..." -- Cole frowned and tapped lightly on his watch.

"It's dead," he muttered. Then, glancing at the wall clock, he said: "It's two thirty."

He gave his watch an annoyed look and said:

"I can't believe it's dead: I just had the battery changed..."

"Oh, no!" Piper exclaimed, only then realizing what he was talking about. "I'm sorry, Cole! I should have unfrozen your watch earlier, but with all that happened I completely forgot."

Cole gave her an intrigued look and she explained:

"Whenever I freeze anything that has a battery, if I don't unfreeze it right away, the battery dies; I don't know why, but it does."

"Piper, when did you freeze my watch?" he asked, puzzled.

"I didn't specifically freeze your watch, silly," she said. "I froze the entire room, just in case there were other demons."

When Cole still didn't understand, she added, slightly impatient:

"At the new house, when the vengeance demon attacked!"

"You froze everything but me?" he said, raising his eyebrows. "Well, congratulations."

Now it was Piper's turn to look puzzled, and he said:

"Isn't that what you had been practicing for the last two weeks? Freeze the entire room but one single person?"

"Yes, but..." -- suddenly, Piper burst into laughter, waving her head, and Cole gave her a perplexed look.

"What?" he said.

"Cole, I can't freeze you!"

"Yes, you can," he said. "You..."

"Not any more, you dope!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands to the air. "Good witches don't freeze!"

"Good witches don't... Oh!" -- Cole's eyes opened wide as comprehension sank in.

"I'm a good witch," he muttered, a smile forming on his lips. "I'm a good witch; you can't freeze me any more."

His smile opened wider as he added:

"You can freeze Leo, but you can't freeze me!"

"Yeah, I knew you'd love that..." Piper sighed, smiling and shaking her head.

"Love what?" Paige said, entering the kitchen.

"Piper can't freeze me," Cole said with a self-satisfied grin that made Piper roll her eyes.

"Big deal!" Paige sneered.

"Easy for you to say," Cole said, "because she can't freeze you, either. But she can freeze Leo," he added, smugly.

"Hey! Is that chocolate?" Paige said, not all that interested in boys' rivalries.

"It depends," Cole said, quickly putting the bowl out of her reach.

"Depends on what?" Paige said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Well... do you still hate me?" he asked slyly, watching her with squinted eyes.

"If I say that I do, will you share the chocolate with me as a peace offer?" she asked, warily.

"Ha!" Cole scoffed. "I won't waste **_my_** chocolate on the enemy!"

"Are you childish!" Paige exclaimed, giving him a contemptuous look.

"Maybe," Cole calmly said, turning his attention back to the chocolate, "but I have the chocolate."

"Well, I don't hate you," Paige admitted as she pulled a chair and sat across the table from him, resting her elbows on the table and her chin on her crossed hands. "I find you annoying and irritating," she proceeded casually, "but I don't hate you. What about you?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "Do **_you_** hate me?"

"Nope," Cole said, pushing the bowl towards her over the table. "But I do find you a pain, sometimes."

"I can live with that," Paige said, starting to work on the chocolate mix.


	5. First preparations

Note #1: Sorry, guys, I know I've been taking longer than usual to update. Thank you for hanging around; I'll do my best to make it worth the waiting. :-)

Note #2: LuckilyCharmedGirl, I'd have sent you a note, but you didn't add an email address to your profile. I took a look at your story Masked, as you asked, and I left a review there. It's an interesting premise you have there, I really liked the idea.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When Leo orbed in, a few minutes later, Cole and Paige were still sitting at the kitchen table, while Piper was standing before the supply cabinet, taking a few items from inside and placing them on the counter.

He watched for a moment as Cole and Paige discussed the best way to destroy the vengeance demon's power center; he gestured his chin towards them, giving Piper an inquisitive look, and she responded with a slight nod of her head. Leo smiled and sighed inwardly in relief: lunch had been awkwardly silent, with everyone mulling over the things that had been said that morning. He and Cole had cleared the air while Phoebe was upstairs with Ben, and just by looking at Cole, swinging on his chair and lightly pondering the merits of Piper's power to explode things versus Phoebe's fire balls, Leo could tell that he and Phoebe had already worked out their issues: after living under the same roof with Phoebe and Cole for almost two years, Leo knew very well the sulking mood Cole would get in after an argument with Phoebe.

Piper was always ready and willing to make peace, so that had left only Paige, and although Leo usually let her and Cole settle their differences on their own time, with a vengeance demon lurking around that might lead to deadly consequences. As the Whitelighter of both parties, he would have intervened if they hadn't worked it out by themselves, and God knew he was glad that his help wasn't needed: Leo had learned from painful experience that it was wiser not to meddle in Cole and Paige's mutual issues.

"Any news from your stalker?" he asked Cole, opening the refrigerator and taking an apple from inside.

"Nope," Cole said, watching as the Whitelighter took a knife from the silverware drawer, pulled a chair, turned it around and sat backwards on it.

Piper glanced at the wall clock behind her: it was two forty five.

"Piper can't freeze me," Cole blurted out after a moment.

Piper looked at the clock again and smiled. Ten full seconds.

"I know," Leo said, calmly cutting the apple in two and starting to pick the seeds out. "Good witches don't freeze."

"You can't freeze a good witch," Leo said again, keeping his eyes on the apple. "**_But_**," he added softly, "if you're his Whitelighter, you can sense him."

Cole's smile faded as he gasped in shock, and Piper could barely hold back the laughter as she looked from him to Leo, whose contented grin showed that this time the Whitelighter had been one step ahead of his charge; she wondered how long Leo had been patiently waiting to use that line.

"Are you sure about that?" Cole asked, giving Leo a suspicious look.

"You bet," Leo said, clearly thrilled to have the upper hand.

When the meaning of Leo's words sank in, Cole's eyes opened wide in shock.

"You've already done that!" he exclaimed, and the outraged look on his face was all it took to make Piper finally burst into laughter.

"Come on, Cole," Leo said, he, too, fighting laughter. "It's not like I'm watching your every movement. I've checked on you a few times during the past couple of weeks, that's all; I do that to all my charges every now and then, just to make sure they're fine."

"Can I sense him, too?" Paige asked, grinning.

"I doubt it," Leo said, with an amused smile. "You're not his Whitelighter, nor a blood relative."

"Well, there's only one way to find out..." she said, slyly.

"Don't you dare," Cole snarled at Paige.

"Try and stop me, magic boy," she taunted him.

"Enough, the two of you!" Piper said, but it was hard to keep a stern face when she was laughing heartily.

"What's going on here?" Phoebe asked, entering the room, and giving the four people there an intrigued look.

"Ah, just the usual..." Piper said lightly, pointing at Cole and Paige.

Phoebe sat on Cole's lap and gave Paige a mocking reproachful look. Before she could say anything, though, Piper turned to Cole and asked:

"Cole, have you finished reading that book?"

"Uh, yes," Cole said with a straight face.

Piper gave him a skeptical look, and he admitted:

"Part of it. Sort of."

Piper sighed and motioned for him to approach.

"Come here," she said.

Phoebe slipped from his knee and sat on a chair next to Leo, and Cole stood up and walked towards Piper. He stood by her side before the counter and gave her an inquisitive look.

"Tell me what are those," Piper demanded, motioning towards a bunch of tiny white petals that lay on the counter, and Cole grimaced.

"Petals?" he said.

"Cole..." -- Piper shot him a reproachful look -- "Come on, you're not even trying!"

Cole gave Phoebe a helpless look, and she took pity on him and silently mouthed the answer.

"Phoebe's helping!" Paige promptly shrieked; she loved to see Cole squirm under Piper's questioning, and had no intention of letting Phoebe spoil the fun.

"Phoebe, stop!" Piper said, scowling at Phoebe. "So...?" she said, turning to Cole again.

"Mayflower petals," Cole said.

He was relieved to see her nod in approval, but his reprieve didn't last long.

"And what do mayflowers mean?"

Seeing his puzzled look, Piper asked, sternly:

"Cole, have you at least opened that book?"

"Piper, it was 'The Language of the Flowers'!" he protested. "Couldn't you at least have given me a manly book to read?"

"Paige?" Piper asked, ignoring his protests.

"Welcoming," Paige promptly said, giving Cole a victorious smile that he returned with a glare.

"Now, this one is easy," Piper proceeded, eyeing Cole.

She pointed to some branches lying next to the mayflower petals and he sighed, understanding that it'd still take a while before he was off the hook.

He gave the branches a critical look and said:

"Cinnamon tree?"

"Right. And it means...?"

Cole scratched his head, looking at the branches as if they could tell him the answer. He hadn't indeed opened the darn book at all, and now he wondered what the hell cinnamon might mean.

"Hum... Strength?"

"Forgiveness." Not even giving him time to breathe, Piper pointed at a bowl full of pink petals. "What about those?"

Cole could feel a drop of cold sweat rolling down his back. He looked at the petals for a while, took a handful of them from the bowl and smelled them.

"Pink verbena?" he said, without much hope.

"Right," Piper said, to his surprise and relief. "And what does it mean?"

"Ah... hum..." -- he looked at Phoebe again, but this time Paige was alert.

"Cheating, cheating!" she lilted, and Piper spun around and gave Phoebe a warning look.

Understanding that he was on his own now, Cole looked at the petals again. So, pink, huh? That looked girlish.

"Romance?" he tried.

Piper sighed heavily.

"Family union! You are **_so _**gonna read that book, Cole!"

Cole shuffled his feet and Piper pointed at a bunch of leaves.

"Now..."

"Piper!..." he pleaded, but she squinted her eyes and gave him a stern look.

Cole sighed heavily and looked at the deep green leaves she was pointing at.

"Hum... Sweet basil?"

"And what does it mean?"

Cole furrowed his brow, desperately trying to remember anything of what Piper had been teaching him for the last couple of weeks. He could hear Paige giggle, and with the corner of his eye he saw Phoebe elbow her. Sweet basil, sweet basil, sweet basil...

"Good wishes?"

"Exactly," Piper said, nodding. "See? It wasn't all that bad, was it?" Cole grunted in response and she added, waving her finger at him: "Well, it wouldn't have been if you had studied."

"Now you're gonna mix them all together," she commanded.

"Piper, give him a break," Phoebe said, smiling as she started to stand up. "I can do that."

"No, Phoebe, that would shift the balance," Piper said, motioning for her to sit again. "I want Cole's magic for the ingredients, and ours for the spell."

"My magic?" Cole asked, suddenly worried. "What do you mean, my... What are we doing?"

"You'll see," Piper calmly said. "Just mix the ingredients."

She had to bite her lips to avoid laughing at the way his attitude towards the branches and petals promptly changed. He touched them warily and asked, giving them a suspicious look:

"What should I do?"

"Break the cinnamon branches in small pieces, and tear up the basil leaves. Use your hands, no scissors or knives. Then throw everything into that bowl." -- Piper pointed at a large white bowl that was resting on the counter, next to the ingredients. "Mayflower first, then cinnamon -- make sure the branches are broken in really small pieces -- pink verbena, and finally the basil leaves. And mix everything together."

Leo leaned slightly forward and watched with interest as Cole nervously worked on his very first potion, handling the ingredients with a wariness that made the Whitelighter smile. When Cole finished, he showed the bowl to Piper, and she nodded in approval and said, pointing at a leather bag about the size of a lemon:

"Fill the bag with the mixture."

After Cole did as he was told, Piper took the bag from his hand, closed it tight and slipped a black cord through a small ring sewed to the bag.

"Now, step aside for a minute. Phoebe, Paige," she called, motioning for her sisters to join her.

Cole promptly backed away from the counter, but the spark of interest in his eyes was evident as he watched Phoebe and Paige join Piper and start to chant in one voice:

"Three stand here as one,  
to close the circle, make it strong."

"One for the family," Piper said, reaching out for one end of the cord and tying it in a tight knot.

"One for the coven," Paige said, doing the same with the other end.

"One for the love," Phoebe said, tying the two ends of the cord together.

Together, they finished, their hands hovering over the bag that rested on the counter:

"When evil comes to claim its prey,  
The Power of Three shall keep it away."

"Here," Piper said, taking the bag with its black cord and giving it back to Cole. "Hang it around your neck."

Cole gave her a puzzled look and she rolled her eyes in mock impatience:

"Come on, Cole, it won't bite, you know!"

"And this would be?..." he asked, whilst obliging.

"It's an amulet, for crying out loud!" Paige shrieked, not quite as patient as Piper.

"An amulet?" -- he looked from her to Piper, and then to Phoebe.

"It was Piper and Paige's idea," Phoebe said, smiling.

Cole looked at Piper again, and she explained, patting his chest:

"Welcoming, forgiveness, family union, good wishes. That should help protect you against vengeance."

Cole held the amulet in his hand and took a closer look at it.

"It smells good," he said, smiling. "I mean, no offense, but usually your potions smell like something that's been dead for a long time."

"Well, they're usually made of things that have been dead for a long time..." Piper reasoned. "Anyway, I did my best to ensure that the amulet would repel only vengeance demons, not other members of the family."

"Yeah," Phoebe said, hugging him from behind, "specially the one member of the family who shares a bed with you."

Cole chuckled slightly and put one arm around her, while he used his free hand to gingerly slide the amulet into his shirt.

"Didn't you have anything to keep annoying sisters in law away?" he asked, turning to Piper again with a smug smile.

"You'd **_better_** be referring to Paige," Piper said, mock glaring at him.

"Hey!" Paige exclaimed, indignantly.

Just as she and Cole were about to start an argument about who would be more than glad to keep their distance from whom, the phone rang. Leo reached out for it and answered:

"Hello. Who??" -- he frowned slightly -- "I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong... oh, wait!" -- he handed the phone to Cole -- "It's for, hum, Belthazor."

Cole gave the others a sheepish smile as he received the cordless phone from Leo.

"Anyanka? Hey! Long time no see," he said, his smile widening in a way that made Phoebe raise a slightly intrigued eyebrow.

He leaned on the counter and the others watched him, listening with great curiosity to his side of the conversation.

"Hum! Is that so? Well, I don't go by Belthazor anymore, either."

"..."

"Cole. Cole Turner."

"..."

"Well, let's just say you're not the only one who's human now."

"..."

"No, I mean, completely human."

"..."

"Hum, it's a long story... Listen, where do you live now?"

"..."

"Sunnydale? Isn't that where the Hell Mouth... Oh, really? The Magic Box? Well, I'm impres... You're WHAT???"

Cole dismissed the interrogative looks directed towards him with a wave of his hand, while on the other end of the line Anya seemed to be on a roll.

"Anyanka, Anya, hold on for a second, will you?" he said, trying to bring the conversation back to his problem. "I'm in kind of a situation here and I think you may have some information I need."

"..."

"No, nothing evil, I... Wait, you're friends with who??? Then again, never mind: this is not the point now. Listen, I was wondering if you could take a few days off and stop by San Francisco?"

"..."

"Yes, Anya, I'll love to see the ring, but... Of course you can bring... Yes, I'm sure he's... Look, can you come over or not?"

When Cole finally managed to give her the address of the manor and hang on the phone, he felt spent: demon or human, the girl was still the same chatterbox he remembered.

"So...?" Phoebe said, giving him an inquisitive look as he sat by her side again.

"They'll be here on Tuesday."

"They?" Piper said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, she and her, hum, fiancé," Cole said, looking slightly puzzled himself.

"She's engaged? The girl who used to avenge scorned women for a living?" Paige said, amused.

"Trust me, I'm every bit as surprised as you are," Cole said, shrugging. "But, yes, she's engaged, and she sounded pretty excited about it. Which reminds me," he added, with an amused smile, "when she gets here, make sure you tell her how beautiful her ring is: it'll break her heart if you don't."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Later that day, when Phoebe went upstairs to check on Ben, she was surprised to find papers, pictures, magazines and several other small items scattered on the floor.

"Wow!" she uttered, frowning slightly and giving a surprised look around the room.

"What was that? A hurricane?" she said to Ben, who was sitting in his crib, looking at her with a big grin.

"Wooooo!" Ben said, gleefully waving his hands above his head.

"Oh, I see," Phoebe said, smiling as she closed the open window, through which a soft breeze was now blowing. "So, a big wind blew in here, huh? Wooooo!" she mimicked him.

"Wooooo!" Ben said again, grinning. He was very proud of the nice wind he had summoned earlier. Nice, funny wind. As mommy scooped him up and smacked a sound kiss on his chubby, pillow marked cheek, he laughed, happy, and wondered if he would be able to summon the wind again for her.

Before he could start, though, Phoebe sat him on her bed and started to make funny faces that made him laugh, baby talking to him and keeping him distracted as she quickly put his shoes on. By the time she left the room with the toddler in her arms, happily chattering all the way downstairs, Ben had forgotten all about the wind. For the time being.


	6. Anya

Note: Now that everyone knows that this is a Charmed/Buffy crossover, it's time we talk about timelines. As I said before, I disregarded BtVS's timeline in order to suit my own story (it rocks to be the author...). This story takes place between episodes 6.14 ("Older and Far Away") and 6.15 ("As You Were") of BtVS, which means that Anya and Xander are engaged, Tara and Willow aren't together and Buffy and Spike are having that love and hate thing of theirs.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When the grandfather clock chimed 7 p.m., Paige raised her eyes from the magazine she was reading; Anya and Xander should arrive any minute now. Anya had called earlier to tell Cole that they were in San Francisco, and he had invited the couple over for dinner. Paige sighed: Monday and Tuesday had been two rather tense days, with everyone's agendas being rearranged so that Cole wouldn't be alone, and she -- like the rest of the family -- could hardly wait for the moment when they would switch from defensive to offensive mode.

She looked at Ben, who was sitting in his playpen, happily tearing to pieces an old magazine that Piper had given to him.

"I hope your mommy and daddy don't get too 'busy' upstairs and forget that we have people coming over tonight," she muttered lightly, winking at him.

"Ma-ma!" Ben said, taking his eyes off the magazine and grinning at Paige.

"Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma..." he started to lilt, turning his attention back to the magazine.

Just then, the doorbell rang; Paige stood up, yelling towards the kitchen, where Piper was finishing dinner:

"I'll get it!"

Paige cast a quick glance at Ben and walked to the front door. When she opened it, she saw a girl in her twenties, with shoulder length blonde hair. The brown eyes that met Paige's were clear and curious; the girl looked much more confident than the dark haired guy who was standing by her side, giving Paige a somewhat nervous smile.

"Hi!" she said, smiling at Paige. "I'm looking for..." -- she looked at the piece of paper in her hand -- "Cole Turner."

"Hi. You must be Anya," Paige said, smiling and stepping out of the way. "Come on in. I'm..."

"This is Xander," Anya cut her off, pointing at the guy that followed her through the door. "We're engaged; he gave me this ring."

She almost touched Paige's nose with the back of her hand so that Paige could take a good look at the stone.

"It's, hum, lovely," Paige said, backing away slightly. She closed the door and walked the couple to the living room. "Cole's upstairs; I'm gonna..."

"Hi!" Ben said, waving cheerfully at the newcomers as they entered the living room.

"Uh, hi," Anya said, giving him a surprised look. "Is he...?" -- she turned to Paige again, pointing at Ben -- "Are you...?"

"Yes, he is," Paige said, "and, no, I'm not. Cole's wife is upstairs, too; she's my sister."

"Oh," Anya said. "Okay."

She cocked her hair to the side and gave Ben a curious look that made him giggle.

"Hi!" he said again, grinning.

"You've already said that," Anya said, frowning slightly as she approached the playpen, with the wary look of one who isn't used to being around babies.

Xander followed her, and Paige stood at the bottom of the stairs, not so sure whether to leave Ben alone with them. As Anya leaned down to give Ben a better look, he took Mr. Floppy in his hands and proudly showed the stuffed bunny to her.

Ben's eyes grew round with surprise when Anya let out a blood freezing scream and quickly backed away from the playpen, throwing herself into Xander's arms. Her piercing scream was still echoing through the manor when Piper came from the kitchen like a bolt and Phoebe came running from the second floor, skipping every other step and almost knocking Paige to the floor as she ran past her, with Cole on her heels.

"What happened?" Piper asked Paige, while Phoebe darted past Anya and Xander and took a very dumbfounded Ben out of the playpen. "Who are they?"

"I, I don't know," Paige said, baffled.

"You don't know who they are?" Phoebe asked, holding Ben tighter.

"No. I mean, yes, but..."

Cole had carefully approached the couple and now, looking at Anya, whose face was still buried in Xander's chest, he said tentatively:

"Anya?"

Anya turned her head to look at Cole and said, glaring at him:

"You people shouldn't give those scary things to small children!"

"What?" Cole said, puzzled.

"I'm sorry," Xander said, embarrassed, while gently stroking Anya's hair. "She has this thing with, hum, bunnies."

"She... Oh, shit!" -- Cole slapped his hand on his forehead.

"Is Mr. Floppy in the playpen?" he asked, turning to Phoebe.

"Uh, yes," Phoebe said, glancing at the playpen. "Why?"

"I'm sorry, Anya," Cole said, turning to Anya again. "I completely forgot about the bunny thing."

"Bunny thing?" Piper said, giving him an inquisitive look.

"She's afraid of bunnies," he explained.

"She's afraid of **_bunnies_**?" Paige repeated, incredulously.

"Would everybody stop saying that word?" Anya said, shuddering.

Cole sighed: he knew about Anya's phobic fear of bunnies and, as amusing as it might be to other people, to her it was deadly serious.

"I'm so sorry, Anya," he said again. "I should have known."

"Damn right you should," she muttered, scowling.

"Still, it's just a toy," Cole reasoned. "It's not like..."

Anya huffed, and it occurred to Cole that a girl who had once dated a two headed ogre yet freaked out at the mere sight of a bunny was pretty much beyond reasoning.

"You're right," he sighed, contritely. "That's no excuse."

Getting no response -- unless that little impatient noise she had made counted as a response -- Cole sighed and scratched his head. Then, with the wisdom acquired in two years living with the Halliwell women, he tried a different approach:

"But, Anya, I only forgot that the bunny was there. I didn't forget that you're afraid of bunnies."

When she gave him a suspicious look, Cole knew that he was on the right path.

"Just like I didn't forget how much you like wild boar," he added with a little smile. "I even asked Piper to make an extra amount of currant sauce especially for you."

"Did you tell her to cook it medium rare?" Anya asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Cause that's the only right way to cook wild boar, you know."

"I told her to cook it medium rare," he said, nodding mindfully.

Anya pondered this for a while, chewing her lower lip. Finally, she sighed heavily and said, giving Cole a stern look:

"You're so lucky I'm not in the vengeance business any more."

"It's good to see you too, Anya," Cole said, smiling, and she rolled her eyes before raising herself on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

Introductions were made and hands were shaken then, and everybody went to the living room for an appetizer before dinner. Piper sat in an armchair, subtly glancing up as she hoped Leo wouldn't be late for dinner, and Paige put a chair for herself next to the couch, where Anya and Xander were sitting side by side. Phoebe sat on the other armchair and Cole sat on its arm, with a hand resting on her shoulder; and, after some deliberation, Ben decided that he wanted to stay with them instead of going back to the playpen.

Ben watched Anya intently from the safety of mommy's arms, trying to decide how he felt about her. Usually, he befriended any living creature that crossed his path, but this new lady had yelled at him, and he wasn't doing anything wrong!

"Dis?" -- Ben tugged on Cole's shirt and pointed at Anya.

"This is Anya," Cole explained, smiling. "She's daddy's friend."

"Dis?" -- Ben pointed at Xander.

"This is Xander. He's a friend, too."

Ben gave the couple an appraising look, furrowing his brow in concentration. He understood the word "friend"; "friend" was good. And daddy never lied. He studied Anya's face for a while: she didn't look like she was going to yell now. Finally, his good nature prevailed, and Ben waved at them:

"Hi!"

"Hi," Anya said, while Xander smiled and waved back at Ben.

Then, turning to Cole, she said:

"He doesn't know many words, does he?"

"He's thirteen months old, Anya," Cole explained patiently. "His vocabulary will grow."

Anya gave Ben a skeptical look, watching as he snuggled in Phoebe's arms and started to gnaw on his teething ring. For once she decided to keep her thoughts to herself, though, and turning to Cole again, she asked:

"So, what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?"

"Well," Cole sighed, rolling his glass between his hands, "it turns out there's a vengeance demon after me."

"You've been cursed??" Anya asked, her eyebrows shooting up. "By whom?"

"I don't know her name," he said, "but maybe you do. Red hair, blue eyes, sent by my father in law. Sound familiar?"

"Sure," Anya promptly said. "Liusaidh. We worked together many times: a scorned woman usually has a very angry father."

She turned to Phoebe, giving her a curious look:

"You don't look like a woman who's been wronged."

"What?" Phoebe said, surprised. "Oh, no, no! The reason my father is angry at Cole... well, it's a long story, but it wasn't really his fault." -- she reached out and held Cole's hand -- "We've made some really bad mistakes in the past, but whatever they were, we made them together. And," she added, smiling softly at him, "it's all in the past now: we've put them behind us long ago. My father just needs to hear the whole story to understand that."

"But first we have to deal with Liusaidh," Piper said.

"If you're asking me to talk to her," Anya said, "forget it. Even if Liusaidh and I were friends -- which we're not -- she's quite the career demon: she would never do anything to jeopardize her chances to rise in rank. And D'Hoffryn would throw a fit if one of his demons left a job unfinished."

"Well," Phoebe said, "if she's not your friend, then I suppose you won't mind if we destroy her power center?"

"Nah," Anya said, lightly. "To be honest, I was never very fond of her."

Just then, Leo orbed in, startling Xander, who almost dropped his glass.

"I'm sorry, honey," he said, leaning down to kiss Piper. Noticing Xander's surprised look, he turned to Cole, worried:

"I thought you had told them."

"I told them that the girls are witches," Cole said, giving him an apologizing smile, "but I didn't tell that one of them is married to a Whitelighter."

"What's a whitelighter?" Xander asked Anya.

"Sort of like a witch's Watcher," she said.

"What's a watcher?" Phoebe asked Cole.

"Sort of like the Slayer's Whitelighter," he explained.

"I didn't know Whitelighters could get married," Anya said, giving Leo a curious look as he put a chair for himself by Piper's side and took one of his wife's hands in his.

"They couldn't," Cole said, smiling as he put his arm around Phoebe's shoulders. "But that never stopped a Halliwell."

"Turners aren't famous for going by the book, either," Piper said, mock glaring at him. Then, turning to Anya: "We had permission to get married."

"Have you told them about your problem yet?" Leo asked Cole, trying to change the subject.

"Yes. Anya knows the demoness who's after me."

"Well, that's good news. What about her sigil?"

"That's what I was about to ask." Turning to Anya again, Cole explained: "We need to know Liusaidh's sigil. Do you think you can help?"

"Sure," Anya said. "I'll ask Halfrek: I'm sure she can find out. You know my friend Halfrek, don't you?"

"I think I remember her," he said. "Isn't she the one who avenges neglected children?"

"Is there a vengeance demon for **_every _**situation?" Phoebe asked.

"You could say so," Anya said.

Before Phoebe could comment on that, Ben decided that he had stayed quiet for too long. Without warning, he slid from Phoebe's knees to the floor and made a wild move towards the appetizers on the coffee table.

"Hey!" Phoebe exclaimed, grabbing the little hand that reached out for the appetizers.

"My," he explained to her, but she shook her head.

"No, sir," she said, taking a baby carrot and giving it to him. "You can have one if you want, but only one. No digging your hands into the bowl."

Ben then tried to dip the baby carrot in the sauce like he had seen the grown ups do, but again Phoebe stopped him.

"No sauce," she said firmly.

She gently turned him away from the coffee table and lightly patted his butt, pushing him toward the playpen.

"Go play a little more before it's dinner time."

"My," Ben proclaimed again, showing the baby carrot.

Before Phoebe could stop him, he shoved the carrot into the front pocket of his overall and ran towards the playpen. Reaching through the bars, he took a plastic key ring from inside; he shook the key ring vigorously, giggled when it made a rattling sound, shook it again, and then started to walk around the room, shaking the key ring like a little shaman, oblivious to the grown ups' amusement.

"That's one happy little boy you have here," Xander said, smiling as Ben bounced around the room, shaking the key ring and humming to himself.

"You bet," Phoebe said, smiling softly at Ben. "He has some issues with S-H-O-E-S," -- she spelled the taboo word, afraid that, by hearing it, Ben would remember that he was wearing shoes right now -- "and a few 'no bath' days but, other than that..."

"I never had trouble getting Cole into the bathtub," Anya said, distractedly. "We always had fun when..."

"Anya!..." Xander cut her off, placing his hand on her arm, as Anya didn't seem to notice the shocked silence that had fallen over the room.

"What?" she said, giving him a puzzled look.

"I don't think he has told them," Xander said, arching his eyebrows towards the others.

"Tell them what?" Anya said, clueless.

"That you met my mother when I was three," Cole sighed. Turning to the others, he explained, with an embarrassed smirk: "Anya used to, hum..." -- _God, Paige is gonna love this!_ -- "babysit me when my mother was out on an assignment."

After a few stunned seconds, Paige was the one who finally broke the silence:

"You had a demon nanny??" Before Cole could answer, she turned to Anya, a wide grin spreading across her face: "Do you have childhood stories of Cole?"

"Sure," Anya said, smiling. "I..."

"Don't even think of that!" Cole quickly said.

"But I..." Anya started to say.

"Don't."

"I just..."

"Don't."

"Fine..." she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"A demon **_nanny_**?" Piper repeated, not so sure whether to be shocked or amused.

"I told you, vengeance demons are different," Cole said, shrugging. "They will resort to lies and betrayal and all kind of dirty tricks to lure someone into making a wish to them, and will show no mercy to their victims, but you can count on them to live up to a deal."

"Still... a nanny?" -- Piper looked at him in disbelief -- "Is that usual?"

"Raising a half human child in the Underworld isn't usual," Cole reasoned. "And no, there aren't any nanny agencies in the Underworld, if that's what you're wondering. Anya just..." -- Cole frowned slightly, realizing for the first time that he didn't know exactly how Anya had entered his and his mother's lives -- "She just showed up." -- he gave her a curious look -- "Why, Anya? You never told me that."

Before Anya could answer, they heard the kitchen timer go off, and Piper stood up, saying:

"Dinner is ready. Why don't you all go to the dining room while I'll go get the food." Turning to Cole, she asked: "You don't mind finishing this conversation over dinner, do you?"

"Not at all," Cole said, smiling. "I'm hungry."

"But you," Phoebe said, standing up, too, and pointing at Piper, "will go with the others to the dining room, while Paige and I go get the food." -- Piper opened her mouth to object, but Phoebe held up her hand -- "You were on your feet for hours cooking dinner and I didn't say anything because I know how much you love to cook. But carrying the food to the table is a whole different matter."

With that, she and Paige left the room, while Piper sighed and said to Anya and Xander, with a smile:

"Well, let me walk you to the dining room, then."


	7. The nanny

Note: For those of you who don't watch Buffy, Anya is about 1120 years old, which makes her a little older than Cole's mother. And she really has this bunny phobia, even thought the writers of the show never quite explained why. I've already told you that she was a vengeance demon who lost her powers and became human: the circumstances in which that happened will be mentioned later in this story, as well as how she met her human boyfriend and a brief profile of Buffy and the rest of the gang.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Once everyone was sitting at the dinner table, the wild boar made its grand appearance, and Ben accepted the fact that he wouldn't be allowed to hold the spoon, Cole turned to Anya and asked again:

"So, why did you come to our quarters that day?"

"That was my gift," Anya said, simply. "To feel a woman's hurt; I was drawn to your mother by her hurt."

Cole sighed. Anya had showed up on the very first day after his mother had taken him to the Underworld. Of course she was hurting: her husband had just died the night before.

"I thought vengeance demons could only grant wishes to humans," Phoebe said, giving Anya a curious look.

"That's right," Anya said. "And I was very surprised when I met Erzsebet and found out that she was a demon. I wasn't supposed to be able to sense a demon's hurt, and yet I felt hers."

Turning to Cole, she asked:

"What did your father do to her?"

"My father didn't hurt her," Cole quickly said. Anya raised a skeptical eyebrow and he insisted: "He didn't."

He hesitated, then added:

"You sensed her pain because she was hurting for him."

"Really?" Anya said, surprised. "She was hurting for a human?"

"Yes," Cole said. "Why? What did she tell you?"

"You know what she said: you were there."

"Yes, I was," he said. "And that's why I remember that the two of you spoke mainly in, what was that? Sanskrit?"

"Oh, right," Anya said, smiling. "We did. Now I remember."

"So...?" he said, giving her an inquisitive look.

"Well..." she started.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

__

Anya sensed the woman's pain with such intensity that for a moment she felt her head spins.

"Wow!" she thought. "If I get this one, I won't just reach my monthly goal: I'm gonna make it to employee of the month!"

She focused on the pain to teleport to its source, and found herself in a tall room with a stone floor and bleak stone walls; a dark haired woman was there, lighting the nine black candles in a white gold candelabrum, while a little boy watched her with great curiosity, standing on tiptoes and stretching his neck to see what she was doing. He noticed Anya's arrival before the woman did, and promptly gave the alarm, pointing at the intruder:

"Mommy!"

The woman spun around to face Anya, quickly putting herself between the boy and the newcomer and forming an energy ball in her right hand.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she hissed, and Anya was shocked to realize that she was the source of the howling pain that had drawn her to this room.

"You're a demon," she said, baffled.

"Yes, I am," the woman said, coldly, showing the energy ball that hovered over her open hand. "And who are **you**_?"_

"I'm Anyanka," Anya said, proudly. "I'm a vengeance demon."

"You work for D'Hoffryn," the woman said, warily. "I know him. What do you want here? Do you have a message from him?"

"I'm not a messenger!" Anya exclaimed, indignant. "I grant vengeance wishes to scorned women!"

The woman stiffened noticeably and said, giving Anya a cold look:

"Well, there's nothing for you here." Then, switching to Sanskrit, she asked sharply: "Who sent you?"

"No one sent me," Anya replied in the same idiom, while the boy watched them with a puzzled expression. "I was..." -- she frowned, confused -- "I can sense the soul of a hurt woman and go to her." -- she gave the other woman a perplexed look -- "How could I sense you? Who are you?"

Her interlocutor seemed to ponder for a while, then said, flatly:

"I'm Erzsebet."

She watched Anya's face, waiting for her reaction. When there was none, she proceeded:

"And I'm a demon, which means you can't sense me."

"But I did," Anya insisted.

Erzsebet sighed heavily; she glanced at the energy ball, clearly considering the idea of using it, but both she and Anya knew that anyone who killed a vengeance demon would have to face a very enraged D'Hoffryn afterwards. And, as Anya would learn later, right now Erzsebet's situation was very fragile: she wasn't in the position of making enemies, specially not one as powerful as the Head of Vengeance himself.

"I married a human man," she said, stone-faced. "Maybe that's why you could sense me."

"Oh," Anya said, bewildered. "Well, that's, hum... maybe that's possible."

She switched her weight from one foot to the other, unsure. Then, surprising Erzsebet as much as herself, she blurted out:

"Do you want me to avenge you, anyway?"

As Erzsebet didn't answer, too dumbfounded to speak, Anya proceeded:

"We could find someone to make the wish, someone human, and..."

"What? No!" Erzsebet exclaimed, cutting her off. Anya gave her a surprised look, and she quickly added: "He's dead; my husband's dead."

"Oh! Well, in that case..." -- Anya shrugged.

Now it was Erzsebet's time to surprise both demonesses as she asked, giving Anya a curious look:

"Why?"

Anya gave her an interrogative look and she proceeded, slightly impatient:

"D'Hoffryn wouldn't pay you for that."

"I know," Anya said. She hesitated, then added: "Still, you're hurting."

"No, I'm not." -- Erzsebet's eyes sparkled dangerously.

Before Anya could reply, a third woman shimmered in. The boy, who after some time peering at Anya from behind his mother had finally found the courage to warily walk around her to give Anya a better look, quickly drew back again when he saw the newcomer. She was tall, with dark skin and yellow eyes that resembled those of a snake.

"I don't know who has been sending invitations around," Erzsebet exclaimed, annoyed, "but I am NOT throwing a party here."

"Follow me," the demoness who had just arrived said, curtly. "You have work to do."

"What! Now?" Erzsebet said, frowning. "I can't!"

"You must."

"This must be a mistake," Erzsebet insisted. "The Source said I'd have some time to set things up before I..."

"Apparently," the other demoness said with a sneer, "the Master thinks that you've had enough time already."

She looked at the boy who was clinging nervously to his mother's legs and her smile widened, revealing her white fangs.

Erzsebet studied her interlocutor with narrowed eyes; she was a lower level demon who wouldn't come with a phony message that could be easily checked. She was telling the truth, and she'd just love to go tell the Source that Erzsebet had refused to follow his orders.

"I can watch over him," Anya suddenly said.

"What?" -- Erzsebet swirled her head towards her, dumbfounded.

"I can stay here with your son until you come back."

Erzsebet looked from her to the black demoness, and then to the boy. She pondered the situation for a while, then finally kneeled on the floor before him and said, ignoring the two other demonesses as she took one of his hands in hers:

"Belthazor, I have to leave for a while. Anyanka," -- she motioned her chin towards Anya -- "is going to keep you company until I come back. She's gonna take good care of you; when I come back," she added, still looking at him, but clearly addressing Anya, "you will tell me everything that happened while I was gone, and she knows what will happen if I don't like what I hear. Okay?"

"Okay," he answered, almost in a whisper.

"Okay," she repeated, giving the little hand she held a gentle squeeze. Standing up, she said, looking at Anya with hard eyes:

"He doesn't leave this room, and you don't leave his side. Ever. Understood?"

"He'll be fine," Anya said, nodding. "Don't worry."

Erzsebet hesitated, still holding her son's hand; clearly, she did worry. She'd worry all through her mission, and would only stop worrying when she was back at his side. But she didn't really have a choice. And, right now, Anya was their best chance.

She let go of the boy's hand and, after a brief hesitation, he walked towards Anya. Much to her surprise, he timidly reached out to hold her hand, clasping it as he cast a nervous glance towards the third demoness, who was still watching him intently.

As Erzsebet shimmered out, following the Source's messenger, the last thing she heard was her son's voice, as he pointed at the black talons on Anya's face:

"Are those real?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"At some point, during that morning," Anya said, smiling as she remembered, "he asked me if one of my parents was a tiger."

Cole smiled, too, but he became serious again as he said:

"Anya, you would have been in some serious trouble for avenging my mother."

"Actually, no," Anya said. "I wouldn't. A vengeance demon can grant wishes to any human, as long as they reach their monthly goal in their own area. So, as long as no one knew that I was doing that for Erzsebet, I'd be fine."

"I don't get it," Paige said, giving her a curious look. "You were a demon; you were evil. You could inflict unspeakable pain on your victims without so much as a blink of an eye, yet you went out of your way to help two people that you had never seen before in your life. I just..." -- she shook her head, confused -- "I don't get it."

"I do," Piper said, quietly.

Paige gave her an inquisitive look and she proceeded:

"It's a different kind of evil. I mean, it's the same, yet it's different." -- she saw the look on Paige's face and grimaced -- "Oh dear, I'm not good at this. Leo?" she said, turning to her husband for help.

"Go ahead," he said, giving her an encouraging smile. "I know what you're thinking, and you're right."

Piper hesitated, then took a deep breath before starting again.

"We've been through this in the past," she said. "Prue, Phoebe and I. There's more than one way to be evil: there's evil who causes pain for the kicks of it, and there's evil who causes pain because they just don't care, and there's also evil who causes pain because they think they're so righteous and incorruptible and better than everyone else, they declare themselves withholders of justice, with rights over life and death. That's the kind of evil vengeance demons are."

She thought a little and added:

"That's also the kind of evil good is more likely to turn into."

"When you start caring not so much for protecting the innocent as for punishing the evil," Phoebe said.

"That's what Giles says," Anya said, nodding mindfully. "But you say it better," she added, grinning.

"Well," Piper said with a smirk, "we have some first hand experience."

As dinner went on, they talked about witches and slayers, and demons and vampires, and they were already having coffee with pie when Anya asked, turning to Cole:

"Why do you want Liusaidh's sigil, anyway?"

"We want to summon her," Cole explained. "We figured that since we're gonna have to fight her, we should at least make sure she won't have surprise on her side."

"Summon her?" Anya said, raising her eyebrows. "Cole, Liusaidh isn't some lower level demon: you can't just go and summon her."

"Why not?" Phoebe said. She gave Ben a spoonful of pie and added, while gingerly cleaning his chin with a napkin: "We just went and summoned one last Sunday: the one who gave you Cole's message."

"My," Ben said, reaching out and grabbing the napkin with both hands.

"Right," Anya said to Cole, while Phoebe talked Ben into letting go of the napkin, "but now Liusaidh knows that they're witches, and she knows that they're going to try and stop her from getting you; she's going to fight their summoning."

"Well, I don't think Liusaidh is strong enough to fight their summoning," Cole said. "Phoebe, Piper and Paige aren't just any witches: they're the Charmed Ones."

"The Charmed Ones?" Anya said, giving the girls an amazed look. "Really?"

"In the flesh," Paige said, smirking.

"Wow!" she uttered. Then turning to Cole again: "I thought they were just a legend!"

"Nope," Cole said, smiling. "They're very real, and very powerful."

As if on cue, Ben tried once again to grab the spoon and, as Phoebe quickly pulled her hand back, she hit her cup with her elbow, pushing it over the edge of the table. Piper promptly flicked her hands and froze the cup mid fall; then, after Cole reached out and held it by the handle, she unfroze it again so that he could place it back on the table.

"No no no," Phoebe said, waving her finger at Ben.

"My," he stated, and she sighed.

"They say every toddler goes through a 'no' phase," she said. "No one told me there would be a 'my' phase, too!"

"My," Ben repeated, to no one in particular.

"Here," Cole said, picking one of the toys that hung from strings tied to the high chair and giving it to Ben. "This one is yours."

"Hi!" Ben said, greeting the rubber duck with great enthusiasm.

"I'm sorry," Phoebe said, giving Anya and Xander an apologizing smile.

Instead of answering, Xander turned to Anya and asked:

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Well, I'm thinking that I want more pie," she said. "Is that what you're thinking?"

"No," he said, eyeballing Anya, while Piper smiled and cut another slice of pie for her, "I'm thinking that they may be able to help Buffy."

"Who is Buffy?" Cole asked.

"She's the Slayer," Anya said, receiving the plate from Piper's hands. "Have you told them what a Slayer is?"

"Yes," he said. "What's wrong with her?"

"Everything," Anya said.

She put a piece of pie in her mouth and Xander explained:

"Buffy has been having some really bad luck lately. And I mean really, really, **_really _**bad luck. Bad enough to make us wonder if it isn't more than just plain, human, non-magical bad luck.

"It could be a Darklighter," Piper said, and Phoebe nodded. "They can do that."

"A what?" Xander said.

"Sort of like a Whitelighter, but teams up with the bad guys," Phoebe explained.

"Is Buffy alone in Sunnydale?" Piper asked, remembering how a Darklighter had once tried to push Prue into committing suicide.

"Actually," Xander said, "she's in San Francisco, too."

"And Dawn, and Willow," Anya said. "The whole gang. Well, except for Tara, because she and Willow..."

"Wouldn't want us to discuss their private life with these nice people," Xander quickly said, placing his hand on her arm. Then, turning to Piper again: "Anyway, Buffy is in San Francisco, and I was wondering if you could try and find out what's wrong with her."

"Sure," Piper said. "Why don't you bring her here tomorrow night?"

"That'd be great," he said, smiling. Then, turning to Anya: "Do you think that you'll have the information they need by then?"

"I think so. Of course, it's in Halfrek's hands, but I'll tell her that we're in hurry."

"Tomorrow night it is, then," Piper said, smiling. "So, how many people?" -- she counted on her fingers -- "The five of us, you, Anya, Buffy, and...?"

"Dawn and Willow," Xander said.

"Fine. Ten people, then."

"On one condition," Paige said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

The others turned to her, surprised, and she explained:

"I wanna hear one story of Cole's childhood."

"Forget it, Paige," Cole said, firmly.

"Oh, come on! Every time Glenn comes over he tells at least three embarrassing stories about me: that's not fair!"

"Life is not fair," Cole replied.

"Hey!" Anya exclaimed. "That line is mine."

"Well, aren't you glad that your words of wisdom weren't put to waste?" he replied, with his most innocent smile.

"So, **_now_** they're words of wisdom?"

"Do you think that maybe in another hundred years he'll finally start to listen to **_my_** words of wisdom?" Leo whispered to Piper with a smile.

"I heard that!" Cole exclaimed pointing at him, while Piper giggled and Paige laughed.

"How about I tell them about that time you destroyed that antique chest that your mother loved?" Anya asked. "That's a good story."

"I wanna hear that story!" Paige exclaimed, grinning.

"Can't you make her stop?" Cole asked Piper.

"Maybe," Piper said with a smile. "But I kind of wanna hear that story, too."

"And I suppose I won't get any help from you, either," Cole said, turning to Leo.

"Not really," Leo said, grinning.

Cole sighed and put his arm around Phoebe's shoulders as she leaned towards him. He didn't have to ask her to know that she was dying to hear the story, too.

"Go ahead," he told Anya, rolling his eyes.

All eyes turned to Anya as she smiled and asked him:

"How old were you then? Nine?"

"Eight."

"Okay," she said. "So, you were eight and Sarsour was ten." -- she sighed, shaking her head -- "God, what a pair you were!"

"Did you babysit them both?" Piper asked, grimacing at the idea of trying to reign not one, but two half demon kids.

"Well, by the time Cole trashed that chest Erzsebet only asked me to watch over him when she had to be away for more than one day. But when they were younger, yes, Sarsour was usually there while I took care of Cole."

"And was Cole a handful?" Phoebe asked, smiling.

"Well," Anya said, "Not always. When I first met him, he was this frightened little thing that clung to me until his mother was back; he did everything I told him to."

"But soon," she proceeded, giving Cole a reproachful look, "as he grew a little smarter and bolder, the 'my mother' phase began."

"**_My_** mother," Anya said, emphasizing the word 'my' like only a cheeky little boy could do, "said that I can do anything I want as long as I don't leave this room. **_My_** mother said that I can wait up until she comes back. And **_my_** mother this, and **_my_** mother that, until I told his mother that I wouldn't be watching over him anymore unless she told him that, when I was in charge, I made the rules."

"Did she agree with that?" Piper asked.

"Sure," Anya said, with a proud nod of her head. "By that time, Erzsebet knew that she could trust me with him."

"And how did Cole take it?" Leo asked, smiling.

"Oh, he was sulking and didn't talk to me for two whole days, but he got over it eventually."

All eyes turned to Cole and he groaned, pushing his plate across the table and towards Piper:

"More pie."

Piper giggled and cut him another slice of pie while Anya proceeded:

"When Cole was eight, he was a 'big bad demon'." -- she giggled -- "Puffing out his chest and swaggering around, telling me how evil he was, big bad Belthazor. He heard the grown ups talking and tried to sound like them. You asked, _Belthazor, where are you going?_ and without looking back he would say, _I'm going to wreck havoc!_"

"You're cheating!" Cole protested as the others chuckled. "This has nothing to do with the chest."

"Sure it does!" Anya said.

Before she could go on, though, Ben started to bang both hands on the tray of the high chair, calling:

"Mama!"

"Oh, sweetie," Phoebe said, reaching out for him, "you're tired of this chair, aren't you?"

Ben gladly let her take him out of the high chair, but as soon as he was in her arms he started to squirm, trying to go to the floor.

"No," he protested, trying to push the arms that reigned him.

"Maybe we should finish this in the living room," Cole said. "He has been quiet for almost an hour now, and that's more than we usually get from him."

"Dada!" Ben called, as if he understood that daddy was pleading his cause, and Cole took him from Phoebe's arms and planted a sound kiss on his cheek, making him squeal.

"You know," Anya told him as they walked to the living room. "I never thought of you as the 'daddy' type."

"Neither did I," he replied lightly. "But this little guy here seems to think otherwise."

He winked at Ben and the toddler giggled.

"Da-da! Da-da!" Ben lilted gleefully all the way to the living room.


	8. The Scooby Gang

__

Anya could hear them shrieking and giggling as she walked down the corridor. She smiled: demon children learned by imitating the behavior of the grown ups just like human children did, and Cole and Sarsour were always playing 'faction war' or 'kill the witch'. But, she thought, frowning slightly as she approached the doorway, they weren't supposed to play those games indoors: Erzsebet had already told them that, and she wasn't prone to giving the same warning twice.

"You're dead, dead, DEAD!" Cole was yelling as she crossed the doorway.

As she stepped into the room, Anya found herself facing Cole, with Sarsour standing between them and a huge energy ball flying towards her. Both she and Sarsour shrieked in panic: he shimmered out and she teleported to the other side of the room, arriving there just in time to see a heavy ebony chest that had been behind her one second ago burst into flames, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes.

Sarsour shimmered back in one second later, and they both looked from the burn marks on the ground to Cole, who was staring at the marks with his mouth agape.

"How did you do that?" Anya asked, stunned.

"I, I don't know," he stammered. "I just... we were just playing. I never meant to..." -- he gave Sarsour a shocked look -- "I didn't mean to actually throw an energy ball."

"Uh-hu," Sarsour said, shuddering.

"I didn't want to..." Cole said again. "I didn't even know I could."

"I know you didn't, Belthazor," Anya said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible considering she still felt weak in her knees. "We both know."

"We know you didn't," Sarsour said, looking at the marks on the ground again. "Still..."

He finished the sentence with a loud whistle.

"You're getting stronger," he said, looking at Cole with a hint of jealousy. "Your powers are growing."

"Yeah," Cole said, looking at the pile of ashes again, a small grin forming on his lips and widening slowly as comprehension sank in. "I made a real energy ball."

He squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest, looking at the ashes with renewed interest.

"I scared you," he suddenly said, turning to Anya with a glint of excitement in his eyes. "I scared you both to death."

"You sure did," Anya said, smiling. "Scared the hell out of me."

"Told you I was bad..." he said, mischievously.

Before she could reply, he started to jump up and down, thrilled.

"I killed the chest! I'm an evil, scary, powerful demon! I'm the great Belthazor! I'm..."

Just then, Erzsebet shimmered in right by his side, startling him and causing him to lose his balance and fall on his butt with a yelp of surprise.

Without a word, she raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the big bad demon sitting at her feet. Sarsour quickly hid behind Anya: Erzsebet hadn't seen the burnt remains of the chest yet, and right now her eyes showed only curiosity and a hint of amusement. But she would see it soon, and then there'd be hell to pay.

"I'm evil," Cole said, as if that explained everything.

"I'm glad to know that," his mother said, nodding. But her eyes didn't leave his, and the inquisitive expression was still there.

All the excitement left Cole as he cast a shy look toward the ashes. Erzsebet followed his stare; she saw the pile of ashes where the chest had been and drew a sharp intake of breath. When she turned back to him, her face didn't show the slightest trace of humor; she looked at Cole with steely eyes and said, curtly:

"Get back on your feet."

"Mother..." he started, while standing up as quickly as possible.

"Who did that?" she asked sharply.

"I did," he said, and Anya was impressed by the way he looked her in the eyes when he said that, even though he was shaking noticeably.

"Just you?"

"Just me."

Anya glanced at Sarsour: he looked even more frightened than Cole did, if such a thing was possible, but he didn't dare to shimmer out. Both kids knew from painful experience that shimmering out on Erzsebet was a bad idea.

"And what were you and Sarsour doing when you destroyed the finest piece of furniture I own, along with the results of weeks of research on the Chiang coven?"

"We were..." -- Cole gulped -- "We were playing war games."

Erzsebet was silent for a moment. When she finally spoke, she did it in a voice that made Anya herself feel the urge to get out of there as quickly as possible:

"Belthazor, what have I told you about evil and disobedience?"

"Disobeying you isn't evil," Cole said, almost in a whisper, "it's just... deadly stupid."

"That's right," she said, and her voice sounded hard enough to slice a diamond in two. "Too bad for you that you only remembered it now." -- she narrowed her eyes and Cole flinched -- "I'll make sure you don't forget it again."

"I didn't mean it, mother!" he shouted, frantic. "I didn't know I could make an energy ball that big! I didn't mean it, I swear!"

Erzsebet hesitated; the hand she had already raised stopped in the air as the meaning of his words sank in.

"You what?" she asked.

"I didn't mean to destroy..."

"The energy ball, Belthazor!" she said, impatiently. "Did you throw an energy ball?"

"Yes, mother," he said nervously, not so sure if it made his situation better or worse.

Erzsebet looked at the ashes on the ground again. When she slowly turned to Cole again, there was something more than amazement in her eyes, something that Anya couldn't identify right away.

"**One **_energy ball? Big enough to destroy the chest?" she asked._

"It was really big, mother," Cole said, quietly.

Erzsebet gave Anya an inquisitive look, and the vengeance demon nodded.

"It would've turned both Sarsour and me into ashes, if we hadn't gotten out of the way in time."

Erzsebet turned to Cole again, and this time the glint in her eyes was unmistakable, a mix of savage pride and exhilarating joy.

"It has started," she said in a low, husky voice. She looked at Anya, bleak eyes burning with elation. "I told them. I told them all, but they didn't believe me. They'll see now."

Anya didn't have to ask what she was talking about. She had witnessed Erzsebet's struggle during the past five years; she had seen her work herself to the bone in the effort to climb back up in rank. Erzsebet had taken every dirty job, every suicide mission, every task no one else would take in order to prove herself in the eyes of the Source again. And both she and Cole would be dead by now if she hadn't succeeded, because whatever hopes the Source might have once held for the half-breed she had brought to the Underworld with her, those hopes were long dead now. The Source didn't expect anything from Cole, and neither did anyone else in the Underworld. They talked about that behind Erzsebet's back; they shook their heads and sneered in contempt as she passed by with her weak son, who at the age of eight, when any other demon would have already done their first killing, still wasn't a match for the weakest among the lower level demons. Everyone thought he was an aberration, a failed experiment that should be left to die. Everyone but his mother.

"You're gonna be big," Erzsebet said, cupping Cole's chin in her hand. "You're gonna be great. Every magical creature in the world is gonna hear about you; and they're all gonna tremble in fear at the name of the mighty Belthazor."

Cole's eyes, too, had a fiery glint as he looked into his mother's eyes, beaming with pride. The hand that was cupping his chin slid across his cheek and stroked his neck before Erzsebet straightened up, retracting her hand, and said, sternly:

"You're still gonna pay for that chest, though. I'll have to redo the work of three weeks in three days, and you and Sarsour are gonna help me, even if it means that neither of you is gonna sleep or eat for three days."

"Yes, mother," he said, nodding.

"Yes," she said. "But not today. Today we're going to the Congo: I want you to watch how the lions hunt."

"We're going to the surface?" Cole asked, excited.

"Last time I checked, there were no lions in the Underworld," Erzsebet said, raising a mocking eyebrow.

"Now? Can we go now? Right now? Can we, mother, please?"

"Yes, Belthazor," she said, looking with amusement at the boy bouncing up and down before her. "We can go right now."

Then, turning to Anya, she asked:

"Anyanka, you coming?"

"Sure, why not?" Anya said, shrugging. "I have the rest of the day free. Maybe Belthazor can kill a hyena while we're there," she added, winking at Cole.

"I wanna kill a hyena!" Cole squealed.

"We'll see about that," Erzsebet said. Turning to Sarsour, who was still watching her from behind Anya, she asked dryly: "What are you waiting for? A written invitation?"

"I'm not allowed to surface," he said, quietly, shuffling his feet. Sarsour's demon self wasn't separated from his elvish self, and the blue and green skin that he had inherited from his father was a telltale sign of his nonhuman nature.

"Well, I'm sure the lions won't tell," Erzsebet said flatly.

"Come on, Sarsour!" Cole exclaimed. "We're going to kill a hyena!"

"See what you've done?" -- Erzsebet gave Anya a reproachful look, while Sarsour joined them and prepared to follow her shimmer.

"He has to practice with something," Anya reasoned. "And I don't like hyenas."

Erzsebet sighed and shimmered out, followed close by the others.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Did you kill a hyena that day?" Phoebe asked with a smile. She was sitting on Cole's knee, her left arm around his shoulders and her right hand in his.

"Well..." Cole started. He got sight of Anya's mocking smile and sighed, rolling his eyes: "I aimed for one, but missed it by a good ten feet."

Paige giggled and he protested:

"Come on, I was eight!"

"Oh, stop, you two!" Piper said, lightly. "Paige, you had your story. A very good one, by the way," she added, smiling at Anya. "Now let's move on to other subjects."

"Actually..." Xander said. "It was a long drive to San Francisco from Sunnydale. I don't mean to be rude, but..." -- he gave them a sheepish smile.

"You need some rest," Leo said, smiling. "Of course."

"We'll be back tomorrow night," Xander said, standing up. "Thank you for a wonderful dinner."

The others stood up too; when everyone had said their good nights, Cole and Phoebe walked the couple to the door.

"You know, you do look tired," Anya said, cocking her head to the side and watching Xander as Cole was opening the front door. Before Xander could reply, she added: "Does that mean we're not having sex tonight?"

Cole and Phoebe quickly shook hands with Xander and allowed him to make a quick exit, dragging a very puzzled Anya by her hand.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Wednesday went by with no sign of Liusaidh, and at 6 p.m. Piper was in her bedroom, getting ready for dinner. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at her feet from what seemed like miles away. She sighed and wiggled her bare toes.

"Leo?" she called.

"Yes, honey?" -- Leo gave her an interrogative look from across the room. He was standing before the open closet door, buttoning his shirt.

"I can't reach my feet," she whined. "Could you please put my shoes on?"

"Sure," he said, giving her round belly an amused look. Piper was due in another two weeks, and it sure didn't look like she could grow any bigger.

"Hi, feet!" she said in a baby voice, waving at her feet as Leo kneeled on the floor before her. "Miss you guys!"

He chuckled, and she proceeded in her normal voice:

"Overall, I'd say pregnancy suits me well, but those little annoying things can be just..."

Leo raised his head to look at her, arching his eyebrows and giving her a small grin.

"I know, I know," Piper said, smirking. "It's not as hard as what **_you_** have been through, but..."

Leo's eyebrows rose higher.

"Fine, not even remotely close to what you've been through!" she said, rolling her eyes.

"Now, that's more like it," he said, smiling as he released her feet, now properly dressed in a pair of comfortable sneakers.

He stood up and held out his hands, and when she held his hands he helped her stand up.

"Has this bed always been so low?" she said, looking back at the bed and glaring at it.

Instead of answering, Leo cupped her face between his hands and leaned down to kiss her. It was a long, loving kiss, and when he finally pulled away Piper's cheeks were slightly flushed.

"What was that for?" she asked, surprised. "Not that I'm complaining," she quickly added with a smile.

"Two more weeks," he said, smiling back at her. "Two more weeks and then our baby will be here for us to hold and cuddle and love."

"I know," she said in a low voice. "I know, honey. Our baby girl."

For a moment, they just stood like this, looking into each other's eyes and smiling softly. Then, Piper said:

"Remember how I once thought that we could never raise a child in this household? Now we're gonna have not one, but two children around and, guess what? I'm not scared; I'm not scared at all, Leo."

"And you don't need to be scared, honey; everything's gonna be just fine," Leo said, smiling and touching her face. "Four witches and one Whitelighter will be more than enough to protect them both."

"Speaking of which, where are Phoebe and Cole?" Piper asked.

"In the new house with Ben. The fish tank was delivered while you were in the shower, and Ben is all excited with 'his' fishes."

"I can't believe Cole actually bought that," Piper said, shaking her head. "What in the world was he thinking?"

"Probably, the main thing that's in his mind when he's around Ben," Leo said with a smile. "If Ben wants it, Ben shall have it. You saw how thrilled Ben was at the mall, when Phoebe took him to see the aquarium."

"That kid sure wraps big bad Belthazor around his little finger," Piper said, and they both giggled.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On the first floor, Paige had just hung up the phone when she heard the commotion outside. Frowning slightly, she walked towards the front windows, intending to take a peek of the street, but before she could get there she heard Anya banging on the front door, yelling at the top of her lungs:

"Cole! Phoebe! PiperPaigeLeoanyone, open the door!"

Paige orbed straight to the foyer and started to open the door: as soon as she unlocked it, though, Anya slammed it open and entered the manor like a bolt, with Xander on her heels. Before Paige could come from behind the door, a young girl with red hair and frightened eyes darted past her, followed short by a skinny teenager with long brown hair and a blonde wearing a black leather jacket.

"What the..." -- Paige shrieked in fear and quickly ducked back behind the door when the biggest German Shepherd she had ever seen came running through the door, baying like there was no tomorrow.

Piper and Leo, who were coming from the second floor, alerted by the noise, stopped in their tracks and Piper raised her hands and froze the entire scene. Much to her surprise, the redhead didn't freeze: she kept running and bumped into Xander hard enough to bounce and stumble backwards. The girl yelped in pain and surprise when the back of her head made hard contact with the teenager's forehead, and then she fell heavily on her butt. Before either Piper or Paige could say anything, she jumped back to her feet, her eyes jumping nervously from her frozen friends to the two sisters.

"Xander? Buffy?" she called, frightened. "What have you done to them? How did you..."

"The question is," Piper said, staring suspiciously at her, "why didn't **_you_**..."

"The question is," -- the three girls turned around with a start to see Cole enter the room coming from the kitchen and quickly walk past the bizarre scene in the foyer and towards the front door -- "why are you using magic when the front door is wide open and anyone can see you from the street?"

"Oh, God," Piper said, realizing what she had done. "Paige, the door!"

As Paige reached for the door, they heard voices coming from outside:

"I think he went that way," a female voice said. "That pink house over there."

"Major! Major!" a male voice called. "Here boy, where are you? Major!"

"Quick," Cole said to Piper, "unfreeze just the leash."

When Piper obliged, he tied the leash around the doorknob with a tight knot and said, already walking towards the redhead, grabbing the baffled girl by her elbow and taking her out of the way:

"Now unfreeze them."

When Piper unfroze the group, they immediately resumed their running and shrieking, oblivious to the fact that the dog was frozen. Anya and Xander continued towards the dining room, and the two girls that had entered after the redhead made a sharp turn to the right, heading towards the living room and almost bumping into Phoebe, who was coming with Ben in her arms.

"Phoebe, wait there!" Cole said, and as she promptly backed away and the voices outside became closer, he pulled Paige by her arm and pushed her and the redhead not so gently towards the living room, saying:

"Stay there until I call you."

Then, turning to Piper:

"Okay, unfreeze the dog."

As soon as he was unfrozen, the dog tried to resume his wild chase, but the leash stopped him. His paws slid frantically on the floor and he lost his balance and fell heavily on the floor, letting out a yowl of pain. He quickly got up again, but now that the girls were out of sight he seemed to have lost most of his drive.

"Now, what..." Piper started to say.

She sighed when she realized that her view was blocked by Cole and Leo, who were both standing protectively between her and the dog. Between amused and impatient, she pushed the two men lightly to the side and took a good look at the dog, which now seemed to be more interested in sniffing the scents of the house than in chasing anyone.

"What the hell was that?" Piper said, placing her hands on her hips.

Just then, an old man with gray beard and mustache appeared at the front door.

"Excuse me, I..." -- the dog swirled around towards him, letting out a loud yelp and starting to happily wave his tail -- "Major!"

The dog whined as he heard the reproach in his master's voice. The man started to walk towards him, but stopped short as he saw Piper, Leo and Cole.

"Oh dear," he said. "I'm sorry, I... Has Major caused any damage?"

"Uh, no," Piper said, warily. "But he sure scared us."

"I'm awfully sorry," the man said, contritely.

"Abe?" the female voice they had heard before called from outside.

"I'm here, Belle," the man answered towards the open door. Then, turning to Piper he asked: "Would you mind if I...?" -- he pointed at the leash that was still tied around the doorknob.

"Are you sure you can handle him?" Leo said, putting himself between his wife and the dog again.

"Yes," Abe said, "sure. I don't know what got into Major to go chasing those kids like this; it's not like him." He saw the looks on their faces and insisted: "My grandchildren play with him!"

"Abe?" -- an old woman called tentatively from the door.

"That's okay, Belle," Abe said. "I've found Major."

"Major!" she exclaimed when she saw the dog. She approached him and leaned down to wave her finger at him. "Bad dog! Very, very bad dog!"

The dog whined again, and she proceeded sternly:

"You scared us, and you scared the kids, and you scared those nice people."

"I'm sorry," Abe said again. "I can assure you that he had never done anything like this before."

"What happened?" Leo asked.

"We went out for a walk like we do every evening," Belle told them. "And when we walked around the corner and Major saw the girls and the boy, he just..." -- she twisted her hands, embarrassed -- "He caught us totally off guard: he started to bark at them, pulling on the leash and trying to go after them."

"I wasn't holding the leash tight enough," Abe said, giving them a mortified look. "He had never tried to run away before. I'm..."

"Well, it's over now," Piper said, not wanting the poor man to start apologizing again. "And no harm was caused."

"Are the girls alright?" Belle asked, concerned.

"Yes, they are," Piper said, giving the couple a reassuring smile. She eyed Leo and he promptly untied the leash from the doorknob and handed it to Abe.

"Thank you," Abe said, while Leo gently started to lead him and Belle towards the door.

"He had never done anything like this before," Belle said again.

"I'm sure he hadn't," Leo said, gently. "He seems to be a very good dog."

"Yes, he is," she said with a smile. "He's a good dog."

"It was nice to meet you," Abe said, shaking Leo's hand. "And again, I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Good bye, my dear," Belle said, peering around Leo to wave at Piper. "Have a nice delivery."

Piper smiled and waved back at her, and then Leo finally managed to close the door with a sigh.

"Okay," he said, turning to the others. "What was that?"

"It was Buffy's bad luck," Anya said, coming from the dining room with Xander.

"Buffy?" Piper said, confused. Before Anya could reply, though, she remembered. "Right! Buffy. Where did she go?"

"That way," Cole said, pointing at the living room.

There, they found Phoebe watching with amusement and pride as Ben charmed the pants off the three girls. At first he had stayed in her arms, giggling as the blonde and the brunette surrounded Phoebe, cooing and proclaiming him the cutest thing ever. When he got sight of the redhead, though, Ben had let out a squeal of delight and demanded to be placed in her arms, where he was now, his little hands fumbling with her hair.

"Dis!" he exclaimed, happily, showing a handful of red hair to Phoebe. _Another colorful person, yay!_ Ben just loved colorful people. Like funny Uncle Sarsour, who came to visit sometimes. If he had a say on that, everyone would have beautiful bright colors like that.

"I think he likes me," the redhead cooed, delighted.

"Hi!" Ben said, grinning as he groped her hair.

"Hi, you," she said, smiling brightly at him. "I really think he likes me. Don't you think he likes me?" she asked, turning to Phoebe.

"Definitely," Phoebe said with a smile, refraining herself from saying that Ben liked pretty much everyone in the world.

"Is the dog gone?" the teenager with brown hair said, nervously. She couldn't be more than fifteen, and the blonde stood protectively next to her.

"Yes," Piper said. "And I think now would be a good time for some introductions."

"Right," Xander said. "This is Buffy," he said, pointing at the blonde, "and her sister Dawn," -- he pointed at the teenager -- "and this is our friend Willow."

"The girl who didn't freeze," Paige said, looking at the redhead. "How come you didn't freeze?"

"Well," Willow said, puzzled, "this jacket is very warm."

"That's not what..." Piper started. "No, wait. First things first. I believe Xander and Anya have told you about us: I'm Piper, and this is my husband, Leo," -- she took Leo's hand -- "And those are my sisters, Paige," -- she proceeded, pointing at the others as she named them -- "and Phoebe, and her husband Cole. And I see you all know Ben," she finished with a smile.

"Dis!" Ben exclaimed proudly, raising his arms and waving his hands to show that he could recognize his name.

Looking at Dawn, who was staring at Cole with her mouth agape, Xander leaned towards her with an amused glint in his eyes and whispered:

"Dawnie, you're drooling."

"No, I'm not," she protested, blushing.

"Well, **_Buffy_** is drooling," Anya said. A little too loud, maybe, because all eyes turned to Buffy, who was indeed in the edge of drooling at the sight before her eyes, and the Slayer turned as red as humanly possible.

"I think we'll be more comfortable in the solarium," Piper quickly said, to give her time to regain her wits. "Come on, I'll show you the way."

"I'm sorry," Willow whispered to Phoebe as they all followed Piper to the solarium. "You see, Anya kept telling us about this little boy whom she used to babysit..." -- she giggled -- "I guess we all forgot that little boys tend to grow."

She didn't look as embarrassed as her friends were, probably because, unlike them, she hadn't been mesmerized by Cole.

"It's okay to drool a little," Phoebe said with a smile. She made sure Cole could hear her when she added, with a mischievous grin: "I've been married to him for two years now, and I still drool."

Cole was a couple of steps ahead, but he looked back over his shoulder when he heard that and smiled at her.


	9. Last minute addition

In the solarium, ten wicker chairs formed an irregular circle around two small tables, on top of which rested some beer bottles, a jar of iced tea and several glasses. Since Ben had made it clear that staying in the playpen wasn't in his plans, Cole had brought the colorful rug that Piper had hooked for her nephew and spread it on the floor, next to his own chair. Ben was now sitting there, absorbed in the fascinating game of throwing some wood blocks into a box, turning the box upside down so that its contents would fall to the floor, and then starting all over again.

Once she was sure that everyone was comfortable and had something to drink, Piper turned to Willow again and asked, straightforwardly:

"Are you a witch?"

"Uh, yes," Willow said, dumbfounded. "How did you know?"

"Back in the foyer," Piper said, "I was able to freeze everyone but you."

Willow gave her a puzzled look and she explained:

"Good witches don't freeze."

She gave Willow a curious look and added:

"Anya and Xander never mentioned that you're a witch."

"Oh," Willow said, looking embarrassed. "Probably because I, I can't use magic any more."

"Why?" Phoebe asked. "What happened to your powers?"

"Nothing happened," Willow said, staring at her feet. "The powers are not the problem: I am."

"That's not true, Will," Xander said, reaching out and stroking her arm.

"Yes, it is," she said quietly.

She took a deep breath and straightened up to face the others again.

"I can't use magic because I let it take over me. There was a time when I only used magic to deal with magical situations -- and that was how it was supposed to be. But, at some point, I started to use it for trivial things like finding the car keys or making my bed. And, eventually, I lost control completely: it became an addiction, and I needed the power, more and more power, no matter what the cost, white magic or dark magic, and I became a danger to myself and others."

Her voice trailed off and she lowered her eyes to the glass of iced tea in her hand, avoiding eye contact with the others.

"Sweetie, that's horrible," Piper said, softly.

"Will you ever be able to use magic again?" Paige asked.

"I guess not," Willow said with an embarrassed shrug.

"I didn't know such a thing was possible," Cole said, frowning. Leo saw him shift on his seat, uneasy, and even though he, too, felt sorry for Willow, he had to bite back a smile because it seemed that the young witch's first hand testimony had succeeded where Leo's words of advice had failed.

"Well," Leo explained, "it's possible, but it's not really usual. That's why Whiteligthers don't mention this possibility, specially when a witch is still in the process of dealing with their newly found destiny: it could freak them out and end up doing more harm than good. What they do is keep a close eye on their charges, so that they can intervene if things seem to be getting out of control."

"Well, it seems to me that Willow's Whitelighter failed in this particular instance," Phoebe said, frowning.

"I don't have a Whitelighter," Willow said. "Should I have one?" she asked Leo.

"Well," Leo pondered, "you being so close to the Slayer, who has a Watcher, the Elders and the Council must have..."

"The Council?" Paige asked, cutting him off.

"The Council of Watchers," Leo explained. "They must have decided..."

"Are the Elders subordinated to the Council, or is it the other way around?" Phoebe asked, curious.

"Different jurisdictions," Leo said. "Anyway..."

"But Giles -- my Watcher -- has returned to England," Buffy said. "Now there's no one there to help Willow."

"Well," Leo sighed, with the half smile of a man who had learned long ago not to fight his charges' seemingly erratic and methodless patterns of learning, "I can't tell you why they haven't assigned Willow a Whitelighter yet, or even if they indeed haven't assigned her one: for all I know, they might have already done that. But I'll talk to them," he added, "tell them that your Watcher is no longer around, and that Willow could use some help."

"Thanks," Willow said with a smile. "If I have a Whitelighter," she asked, giving Leo a curious look, "will he be a dead person, too? I mean, you're dead, aren't you? Anya said that you are."

"Yes," Leo said, nodding. "All Whitelighters are."

The eyes of Buffy, Willow and Dawn promptly turned towards Piper's belly, and Leo fidgeted in his seat, blushing slightly. Why was everyone so interested in **_that_**? He knew that even other Whitelighters wondered how a man who had been dead for sixty years could have gotten his wife pregnant.

"The next person who asks me that is going to receive a rather blunt answer," Leo thought grouchily.

"So," Piper said to Buffy, sensing her husband's discomfort and trying to change the subject, "you're a Slayer. Cole said that there's only one Slayer in the whole world."

"That's right," Buffy said, nodding. "Into each generation, one girl is born with the strength and skill to hunt vampires. What were the odds, huh?" she quipped humorlessly. "Lucky me."

"Does a Slayer have any magical powers?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm strong," Buffy said simply, shrugging.

Phoebe raised an eyebrow and Xander added:

"Really, really strong. Supernaturally strong."

"And that's all?" Piper said, frowning. "I mean, no offense, Buffy, strong is good, but... did the High Powers just give you this, uh, superstrength, put a wood stake in your hand and say '_you're the Slayer, go kill some vampires now, good luck_'?"

"Yeah, that was pretty much it," Buffy said, nodding. She thought a little, then added: "Well, except for the 'good luck' part: they never really wished me good luck."

"Honey, how old are you?" Piper asked.

"Twenty one."

"And you've been the Slayer for...?"

"Six years."

Piper drew a sharp intake of breath.

"Fifteen?? You were **_fifteen _**and they sent you out after vampires?"

She didn't wait for Buffy's answer as she exclaimed to no one in particular:

"That's outrageous! That's just... just... Oh!" -- she threw her hands up in indignation, letting out an exclamation of anger.

"Don't take me wrong," she added, softening as she turned to Buffy again, "I'm sure that you're capable of doing the job, or you wouldn't have lasted six years, in the first place. I can see that you're a tough girl, but that's exactly my point: no one should have to be that tough at the age of fifteen!"

"Honey..." Leo said gently, placing his hand on her arm.

"Leo, she's so young!" Piper exclaimed, turning to him. "It's not fair," she sighed.

She reached out to refill Buffy's glass, studying the girl's features as she handed the glass back to her. If one looked beyond her slim build and the blond hair that fell in soft golden waves around her face, they'd see the taunt body and the somewhat feline alertness that made the Slayer different from others girls her age. Yet, if you looked even further, beyond that, too, you'd see a girl just like other girls her age, struggling to find her place in the world of the grown ups and figure out where she fitted in, and sometimes wondering if she fitted in at all. A girl who, right now, looked more than happy to just relax and have someone else worry about her and be in charge for a change.

"I'd really like to give those Watchers a piece of my mind," Piper muttered, frowning.

"I have the number of the Council, in London," Buffy said, perking up.

"If you're gonna call them, can I listen on the extension?" Willow asked, excited.

"We could..." Dawn started to say, but Leo quickly held up his hands.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "No one's calling the Council."

Piper opened her mouth to reply, but he said, pointing at her:

"Especially not you. I don't even wanna think of what you'd say to them, and of what the Elders would say to me after the Council reported you."

"I know... Sorry," Piper sighed. "Sorry for my outburst," she said to Buffy and her friends. "I'm due in two weeks," she explained with a sheepish smile, "and I guess that's bringing out the mother hen in me."

"Yeah, because usually Piper is **_so_** not the mother hen!" Paige said, making Cole and Phoebe giggle.

Piper mock glared at her, but before she could retort, they heard the doorbell ring.

"Are we expecting someone else?" Phoebe said, surprised.

"Not that I know," Piper said.

"Well," Leo said, standing up, "I'll see who it is."

He started to walk out of the room, then stopped at the doorway, turned around and said, pointing at Piper:

"Don't call anyone while I'm not here."

Piper smirked, rolling her eyes at him and he blew her a kiss before leaving the room.

"So," Phoebe said, turning to Buffy, "this bad luck of yours?..."

"Right," Buffy said. "You see, I'm not sure if it's actually supernatural, but the fact is, for the last week or so, everything has gone wrong with me. I've been bumping into people, dropping things, losing buttons, getting splashed by cars at an alarming rate. An ATM ate my bankcard last Thursday, and another one ate my credit card on Friday. The cable company has wrongly disconnected me, the dry cleaner ruined my best jacket and cashiers always run out of change when it's my turn in line."

"Tough," Paige said sympathetically.

"And dangerous," Willow added. "A Slayer's bad luck can come in the form of a very lucky vampire."

"It doesn't sound like the work of a Darklighter, though," Cole said.

"My thoughts exactly," Phoebe said, nodding. "But it can still be supernatural," she reasoned.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile, Leo was standing at the front door, looking at the guy who had rung the doorbell, and who was now standing on the doorsteps with his hands tucked in his jacket's pockets.

"I'm looking for Buffy Summers," the newcomer said. "I was caught in the traffic and couldn't make it to the hotel in time to meet her there, so she told me to come straight to here."

Leo hesitated: Xander and Anya hadn't mentioned anyone besides Buffy, Willow and Dawn. Yet, the man before him made no move to force his way into the house: he was just standing politely there, the pleasant smile on his lips making Leo feel a little silly for not letting him in. After all, if the guy was a demon, he wouldn't need an invitation to shimmer in; if he was human -- evil human -- they'd be more than able to deal with him; and if he was an innocent, then Leo would be just being rude by leaving him out in the cold.

"Buffy's inside," he finally said, returning the stranger's smile and stepping out of the way. "Come on in. I'm Leo."

"Thank you," the newcomer said, grinning as he crossed the doorway. He held out his hand and added: "I'm Spike."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Nedolya?" Cole offered. He and Anya were going through all the bad luck bringers they knew, trying to figure out who might be behind Buffy's run of bad luck.

"Nah," Anya said. "Nedolya hides in people's kitchens; I've already checked Buffy's kitchen, and she's not there. I was thinking, maybe Chernobog?"

"No way," Cole said, shaking his head. "Chernobog wouldn't waste time messing with the cable company or the dry cleaner. If he was after Buffy, hell would've broken loose in Sunnydale. What about a..."

"Hey, luv."

All heads swirled towards the source of the voice that carried a strong British accent: the man standing at the doorway by Leo's side had platinum hair and piercing blue eyes; he wore dark jeans and a black leather jacket over a black T-shirt, and was looking at Buffy with a small cocky smile on his lips.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy hissed, glaring at him.

"I was in the neighborhood," he said, swaggering confidently towards her. "Thought I'd stop by to see you."

"But you said..." Leo started to say, frowning.

"I lied, angel boy," Spike said, half looking back over his shoulder.

Leo's eyebrows shot up and Spike added with a sneer:

"You Whitelighters are so obvious..."

Buffy had stood up, and Spike was standing right before her when he opened his mouth to say something else. He never did, though, because Piper raised her hands and froze him.

"Alright, what's going on here?" she demanded.

"Just another shinning example of Buffy's bad luck," Xander said, glaring at Spike. "How on Earth did he manage to follow us all the way from Sunnydale?"

"Beats me..." Buffy said. She sighed heavily, scowling at the frozen figure.

"Should we throw him out?" Phoebe asked.

"That's not necessary," Buffy sighed. "We'll take him with us when we leave. He's no harm, he's just... annoying."

"Do you want me to keep him frozen?" Piper offered.

"Now, this idea has a certain appeal," Buffy said with a smirk.

In the meantime, Ben had stood up and circled the table, walking towards Spike with an intrigued look on his face.

"Hi!" he called as he patted Spike's calf vigorously.

"Ben, don't!" Phoebe said, promptly standing up and walking towards him.

She scooped Ben up and said, turning to Piper:

"You'd better unfreeze him: I don't want Ben to think that freezing the guests is a fun game."

Piper nodded and unfroze Spike, whose grin promptly faded when he noticed that Buffy was no longer before him.

"What the.."

"Hi-hi!" Ben exclaimed, waving happily at him, and Spike turned towards Phoebe with a start, noticing the toddler for the first time.

The appraising grin he gave Phoebe was replaced by a slightly perplexed expression as he looked from her to Ben, and then back at her, like a man who feels that something is out of place, but can't quite put his finger on it.

"Spike," Buffy said, grabbing him by the elbow and cutting him off his musings, "take a seat and be quiet while they try to do their job, okay?"

"Sure, luv," he said, taking a chair and placing it next to hers. Willing as he was to comply with the part about taking a seat, though, the same couldn't be said for the part about being quiet. "So, that one" -- he pointed at Leo -- "is a Whitelighter, but what about the others?" -- his eyes went from Phoebe to Piper, stopped briefly at Cole, who was watching him intently, too, and finally fell on Paige, giving her a curious look.

"What about **_you_**?" Piper asked, frowning. "What are you?"

Instead of answering, Spike turned to Buffy, tilting his head to the side as he gave her an inquisitive look.

"They know I'm the Slayer," she told him. She hesitated, then added: "And that's why I think they're gonna be more than a little surprised to know that you're a vampire."

"What?!?" five voices exclaimed in unison, and Buffy held up her hands.

"I told you, he's harmless," she said.

"Hey!" Spike protested.

"Well, you are," Buffy said, shrugging. "To humans, you are."

Turning to the others again, she explained:

"I can't give you details, because it involves this big, secret, non magical organization which I'm not supposed to talk about, but the fact is, there's a behavior modification chip implanted in Spike's brain that prevents him from hurting humans."

She saw the look on their faces and added:

"I know it sounds weird, but it's true. As long as the chip is there -- and only the people who put it there can remove it -- he can't do any harm to a human being. Actually," she added, unwillingly, "Spike has been fighting on our side for some time now."

"Okay..." Phoebe said, warily. She didn't let Ben go back to the floor though, keeping him in her arms as she sat by Cole's side again.

"So," Spike said, leaning back on his chair and watching the girls. "I'm a vampire. What are you... besides not being vampires?" he asked, albeit glancing curiously at Paige.

Paige shifted on her seat, uncomfortably aware of the fact that **_she_** had been a vampire once, even if for a few hours only, and Piper reached out and stroked her arm before saying, giving Spike a cold look:

"Besides not being vampires, we're witches. And we can do more than just freeze you, so I suggest you watch your behavior while you're here."

"Right," Spike muttered, nonchalantly, while he reached out for Buffy's empty glass, looked at the ice cubes inside it and decided to drink his beer straight from the bottle.

"So, Buffy," Phoebe said, "about your bad luck..."

"So, you've finally decided to do something about that?" Spike said, turning to Buffy, and there was something in his voice, a mild reproach that sounded odd coming from a vampire addressing the Slayer.

"It wasn't so bad before, but now it's getting worse," Buffy said, frowning, and the note of defensiveness in her voice made Phoebe raise an eyebrow and exchange an intrigued look with Piper. "And since they were kind enough to offer to check it out..."

She shrugged and Spike rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he muttered, raising the beer bottle to take another sip. He caught sight of Cole's stare and said, frowning:

"What?"

"You look familiar," Cole said, giving Spike a suspicious look. "Do I know you?"

"I've never been to San Francisco," Spike said, curtly.

"Well, **_I_** have been to a lot of places," Cole replied in the same tone.

"Like, where?"

"Here. There," Cole said, shrugging. "Down there," he added, motioning his chin to the floor.

"You've been to the Underworld?" Spike asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I used to live in the Underworld."

"Demon?" Spike said, surprised.

"I used to be one," Cole said. He didn't know why he was telling all this to the vampire, but he felt the need to remember the circumstances in which they had met.

"Have you and I ever worked together?" Spike asked, tentatively.

"Ha!" Cole snorted. "I never worked with vampires!"

"Why?" Spike snapped, annoyed. "Never found one who would stoop that low?"

Cole glared at him, narrowing his eyes, and Spike's eyes widened slightly in surprise as that mannerism triggered the memory that had been eluding him.

"Wait a second..." he said, with a small grin. "You're right. I never worked with you."

He made a pause, a sly glint in his eyes as his grin slowly grew wider.

"I worked with your mother."

"What!" Cole exclaimed.

"Yes, now I remember," Spike said, clearly enjoying it. "You were this big." -- he held his hand out about four feet from the floor, looking at Cole in mock amazement -- "My, my, have you grown!"

Cole gave him a cold look, but Spike proceeded, unabashed:

"You're the son of, uh..." -- he tapped his fingers on the bottle, biting his lower lip as he tried to remember -- "Damn, the name is on the tip of my tongue: pretty little thing, with dark hair just like yours, black eyes, porcelain skin, and a nose turned up really high for someone who was as desperate as she was!"

"She wasn't desperate," Cole said, sharply.

"Oh, yes, she was, kiddo. Mommy had gotten herself into some really big trouble," Spike said, smugly. "She was as desperate as one could possibly be, and I knew that, and she knew that I knew, even though she never took that haughty look off her pretty face and discussed prices like a shark, wheel and deal."

"She was one tough negotiator," he admitted, "the toughest one I've ever faced. But the simple fact that she bothered to negotiate, instead of just threatening me, showed how thin the ice she was walking on."

"That, and the fact that she was working with a vampire," Anya couldn't help but taunting.

"You know," Spike said, turning an annoyed look towards her, "vengeance demons aren't all that far up the scale, either. Still," he added, ignoring Xander's glare, "she didn't come to me because she was desperate; she came to me because that doll had brains. She wanted me to help her get the Rod of Dandenon."

"So, that's how the Source got the Rod of Dandenon!" Anya exclaimed, surprised.

"She was the one who took the Rod of Dandenon to the Underworld?" Leo asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Only after **_I_** stole it and gave it to her," Spike said. "The Guardians of Dandenon were as blind as bats, but they could sense the soul of anyone trying to get near the Rod from miles away. A being with a good soul wouldn't be able to get anywhere near the Rod without being discovered: the darker the soul, the harder it was for them to sense it. Still, hundreds of demons were slaughtered by the Guardians through the years, because no one had thought of doing what dollface did: send someone who had no soul at all to get the Rod."

Cole couldn't help but smile a little. It was just like his mother to take what looked like a dead-end and see an aspect of the situation that everyone else had missed. As a demon, he had sought her advice, and she had never failed him: they had spent many nights sitting at her quarters, drinking the flavored coffee only she could make and discussing some problem that was puzzling him.

"Dada!" -- Ben's voice cut off his musings as the toddler patted his arm.

"Hi, you," Cole said with a smile as he reached out and took one of Ben's hands in his. He toyed with the chubby fingers and lightly tickled the palm of the little hand he held in his, making the toddler giggle.

"Now, back to Buffy's bad luck," Phoebe said, smiling as Ben giggled and recoiled into her arms, avoiding Cole's tickling hand, "I was thinking, maybe we could make some changes to that spell we used to enchant the sunglasses in order to identify the Source. Remember? Reveal the evil within; if there's dark magic working on Buffy, it should reveal it."

"What spell?" Paige asked.

"You weren't with us yet," Phoebe explained. "It was during that time when the Source was trying to turn you evil. So..." -- she turned to Buffy again.

"I'm not sure," Buffy said, shuffling her feet.

"Why not?" Phoebe asked, surprised.

"Because her own powers are rooted in evil," Spike said.

Buffy turned an upset look towards him and he asked, tilting his head to the side and giving her an ironic half grin:

"Aren't they?"

"That's true," Buffy sighed, turning to Phoebe again. "The Slayer's powers are rooted in the darkness: if you scan for dark magic in me, you'll find a lot of it, curse or no curse."

"Why not just scan for magic, good or evil?" Cole said. "If there are any external forces at play, the alien magic should show in a different pattern."

"Someone has been doing his homework," Piper teased with a smile, and Cole shifted on his seat, slightly embarrassed in spite of the compliment.

"You've been studying the witchcraft?" Anya asked, arching her eyebrows. "Why?"

"Well..." Cole said. "Remember how my father was human?"

She nodded and he proceeded with a sheepish smile:

"It turns out he was also a witch."

"A witch?" -- Anya's eyes grew as big as saucers -- "You're half witch?"

"She let a witch bed her??" Spike exclaimed, between stunned and amused. "So, **_that's _**how she fell in disgrace!"

"Shut up," Cole snarled, swirling his head towards Spike. He didn't notice all the ice cubes in the glasses that rested on the table before him start to melt down at an impossible speed, and neither did anyone else in the room.

"Ha!" Spike proceeded with a sneer, oblivious to the danger. "Too good for a vampire, but not for a witch!"

For a split second, Cole was too shocked to react. Then, as the full meaning of Spike's words dawned on him, he jumped to his feet, but before Spike could do the same the water in Buffy's glass had heated up almost to the point of boiling and dashed out of the glass with a whoosh and splashed on Spike's face, making the vampire yell in pain.

"Cole!" Phoebe said, promptly standing up, too. "Baby, are you okay?"

Cole had frozen in place when he saw the water fly out of the glass and towards Spike, and was now staring at the glass.

"Did I do that?" he asked.

"I think you did," Leo said, walking towards him. "Your anger must have triggered your powers, just like it happened to Piper when she was exploding things around the house. Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Uh, yes. I'm fine, I just..."

Cole frowned, looking at the glass in confusion. Melting the ice, yes, he could picture himself doing that. But making it fly out of the glass, that was a whole different matter. He had talked to his father about that: his powers were somewhat bound by the laws of nature. He could summon the wind to blow things around, but he couldn't just TK them like Prue and Paige did. Cole sighed and shook his head: he'd have to ask his father about that the next time he came over.

Meanwhile, Spike was using a paper napkin to dry his face, which was reddish, having been burnt by the hot water.

"A little touchy, aren't we?" he grunted. "There was no need to freak out, you know. I told you she was one tough negotiator."

Before Cole could reply, Ben turned an angry face towards Spike and scolded him, waving his finger at the vampire:

"No no no!!"

That broke the tension in the room, and Cole chuckled slightly as he took his little boy from Phoebe's arms:

"I'm the one who takes care of you, you know, not the other way around," he said, smiling. "But thank you for standing up for me."

"Hi!" Ben said, grinning at him and trying to grab his nose. That made daddy chuckle, just like he had expected it would. Grown ups were always trying to grab his nose, and Ben found it rather amusing: he considered it a great way to cheer someone up. He grinned proudly as he saw that daddy didn't look upset anymore. That mean man shouldn't have made daddy upset, and if he did again, Ben would send the water after him again, yes, he would. He gave the water in the glasses a pensive look: the water was a friend, just like the wind, he knew that now. He had learned that when daddy's magic coursed through him, flowing from daddy to the water, making the tip of Ben's fingers and toes tingle, and his tummy tickle. He giggled as he remembered: funny feeling.

Meanwhile, Buffy was scolding Spike between clenched teeth:

"Another smart crack and I'll take their offer to throw you out."

"Hey, he started it, asking if we had already met," Spike protested. "And you know that I can't be easily scared away, luv," he added, with a small grin that made her glare at him.

"You keep harassing my family, and I'm gonna put this little theory of yours to the test," Piper said, frowning. Then turning to Buffy: "So, do you wanna try the spell now, before we have dinner?"

"I'd like to," Buffy said. "I mean, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Piper said. "Come on, let's go to the attic, where we won't be spotted from outside, and whatever we find out, we can discuss it over dinner."

"Here," Leo said, putting his arm around her shoulders, "let me orb you to the attic, and the others can meet us there."

"O'b!" Ben squealed, bouncing excitedly in Cole's arms.

"No, sir," Phoebe said. "Only Uncle Leo and Auntie Piper: the rest of us are gonna walk." -- she smiled at him -- "Come on, we're gonna see Buffy's magic. Don't you wanna see her magic?"

"'Kay!" Ben said. He turned to Buffy and waved at her, making her smile. When he stretched his arms toward her, though, she promptly took a step back.

"I'm sorry, sweetie..." she said, looking unhappy. "I wish I could, but right now I don't think it's safe. Wouldn't wanna trip down the stairs with you in my arms."

"I don't have any bad luck," Dawn said, hopefully.

"So," Cole said to Ben, "do you wanna go with Dawn?"

"Hi!" Ben said, reaching out for her, and Dawn promptly took the toddler in her arms as Cole handed him to her.

"Let me know when he gets too heavy," Cole said, smiling.

"Dawn, be careful," Buffy reminded her. "Babies can be quite squirmy."

"Uh hu," Dawn muttered, her eyes trained on Ben, watching with delight as he threw his arms around her neck and snuggled in her arms.

"I think he trusts me," she said softly.

Dawn smiled and perked up as she followed Phoebe upstairs, proudly holding Ben, and Piper, who before she was the most powerful witch of the coven and the older sister in the household had been the clumsy and painfully shy younger sister of a very popular Prue Halliwell, watched the girl with a pensive expression, wondering what it was like to be the teenage baby sister of the Chosen One.

"Honey?" Leo called gently, startling her.

"Uh?" she said, turning to him. "Sorry, honey, I was just..." -- she smiled and shook her head -- "Never mind. Orb me upstairs, I wanna get to the Book of Shadows before Spike arrives there."

"Your wish is my command, milady," he said, leaning down to kiss the tip of her nose, and Piper's giggle was mixed with the chiming sound of his orb.


	10. Of bad guys and good girls

Note #1: Since the age difference between Spike and Cole is quite small, I'm gonna clear some things up before we proceed, just in case anyone is confused. Spike was sired (i.e, became a vampire) in 1880, and Cole was born in 1885.

Note #2: The final episode of "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" was aired in Brazil last week, and even though I loved most things about that episode (don't worry, no spoilers!) there were a couple of things that made me really, and I mean **_really_** angry. So, I just wanted to tell the BtVS viewers that I'm adding a little "scenes of the next episode" chapter at the end of this story with my own version of the season finale.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Phoebe raised her eyes from the notepad on which she had been writing and looked at the people gathered in the attic. Piper was sitting on a rocking chair, watching Spike's every move as the vampire wandered about the room, and Leo was standing behind her, with his hands on her shoulders, talking to Xander. Cole was leaning on an old desk, chatting with Anya, and Dawn was standing next to them, prattling and making funny faces to Ben. Buffy was standing on the center of the pentagram that Paige had drawn on the floor, and Willow was watching with great interest and asking questions as Paige lit the last of the five candles that surrounded the Slayer.

"I'm ready," Phoebe announced.

"So am I," Paige said, standing up and walking towards her.

"Where are the sunglasses?" Leo asked as Piper stood up and joined her sisters.

"Actually," Phoebe said, "we decided to use a different spell. We don't really know what we're looking for, except that we'll be trying to sort out different patterns of magic. It may be something that you or Willow can recognize; not to mention the experience that Cole, Anya and Spike have with dark magic."

"So, which spell did you use?" Leo asked.

"I started out with the one to cause the seen to be unseen," Phoebe said, "but I've made a few adjustments, since this time it's gonna be the other way around."

With Piper standing at her left and Paige at her right, Phoebe held the piece of paper containing the spell so that the three girls could read together:

_"May the magic that hides now stand out and gleam,  
as we cause the unseen to be seen."_

Everyone looked at Buffy, who shifted her weight from one foot to the other, unsure. Then, a soft glowing light started to emanate from her, an intricate pattern of black and white that showed clearly the mixed nature of the Slayer's powers. Beneath the braided pattern of light and darkness, though, the essential righteousness of Buffy's soul shone bright enough to dissipate any doubts one might have about where her heart stood. Soon the light became so bright that it hurt the eyes, and Cole gently took Ben from Dawn's arms, holding the toddler firmly against himself as Ben buried his face on his chest to protect his eyes from the light.

Because Cole's attention had left Buffy for a moment, his eyes fell on Spike, who was right across the room, and for a moment Cole was so stunned that he actually forgot all about magic as he saw the look on the vampire's face, a look he could recognize very well, because he had been in that very same place about three years ago.

When Phoebe asked him how long he had been loving her before the day when his true identity had been revealed to her, Cole truthfully told her that he didn't know: between the day when he had first saw her and that night in the cemetery, he had changed more than he would have thought any creature could change, but most of that change had happened while he was either unaware of it or in denial. Still, if he had to point a benchmark moment, it'd been the day when Phoebe, Piper and Prue were sent back in time to the day their ancestor Melinda Warren was born. Even though the girls had arrived there without their powers, they still had managed to rescue Melinda's mother from the house where she was kept captive, but, since she was already in labor, they hadn't gone far with the bad guys on their heels. Cole was one of the bad guys then, and he witnessed as Phoebe connected with the ancient, elemental powers, and flew up in the sky, riding a broom and impersonating the archetypal wicked witch, spreading fear among their persecutors and scaring them away while baby Melinda was born in safety. As for Cole, he had just stood there just like Spike stood now, spellbound, looking at the woman who was his greatest foe, whose mission in life was to slay his kind, and all he could think was "God, she's so beautiful!..."

"What's that on her chest?" -- Piper's voice cut off Cole's musings, and he turned his attention back to Buffy.

"What's what?" Buffy said, looking down at herself.

She gasped when she saw a bright red spot right between her breasts.

"I think we've found something," Phoebe said, frowning.

"You'll bet," Buffy said, gingerly pulling a silver chain from underneath her blouse and revealing the small pendant that hung from it. The pendant was surrounded by a cloud of red light, and there was something ominous about that light: it made Leo think of his nightmare of the war, the cries of the hurt soldiers echoing in his ears; Paige thought of the fire in the car accident that had killed her parents; Piper shuddered with thoughts of miscarriage and stillborn children; Spike remembered his first kill.

"Is it evil?" Dawn asked, looking slightly nauseous.

"Worse than that," Cole said, huskily, as he held Ben tighter. "It's accursed."

"Buffy, step out of the circle," Piper said.

She tried, to no avail, to take her eyes off the pendant, feeling very lightheaded; she blindly reached out for Leo's arm, and even though her fingers barely grazed his elbow, it was enough to break his own trance, and Leo turned to her with a start, all thoughts about the war flying out of his mind as he saw her pale face.

"Piper!..." he called anxiously, taking a step towards her.

When Leo put himself between her and Buffy, Piper took a deep breath, starting to feel better as the pendant was out of sight.

"I'm fine," she said, whilst burying herself in his embrace. "But we need to get rid of that thing."

"I..." Buffy started to say, but then a gust of wind coming though the open window made one of the candles sway and fall, hitting her leg.

Dawn shrieked in panic as the candle touched Buffy's leg and the very inflammable fabric of her pants caught fire, and Cole quickly motioned his hand towards the fire, commanding:

"Off."

The flames burnt out right away and Leo turned to Buffy, whilst keeping his arms wrapped protectively around Piper:

"Are you hurt?"

"No," Buffy said, shaking her head. "Thank you," she said to Cole.

She stepped out of the circle, feeling much better now that the spell was broken and the pendant was just a small piece of silver on the palm of her hand again.

"You're welcome," Cole said. Noticing that Ben was waving his hand towards the remaining candles with great enthusiasm, Cole chuckled and extinguished their flames with a swift wave of his hand.

"And that's how it's done," he said to Ben, smiling at the puzzled look on the toddler's face. "You'll understand when you're older."

"Is Ben a witch, too?" Willow asked.

"It runs in the family," Cole said. "But his powers haven't developed yet."

"And if I have a say in that," Phoebe said, smirking as she walked across the room towards her husband and her son, "they won't develop anywhere in the near future."

She took Ben from Cole's arms and kissed the toddler.

"No magic for you, little one," she said. "Not yet."

"No no," Ben mindfully said, shaking his head. Not now. Maybe after dinner; he'd do better magic with his tummy full.

"It should only start when he's three or four," Cole explained to Willow. "In my family, there's been a few cases of children whose powers started to develop at the age of two, but it's very uncommon."

"He'll be controlling fire at the age of four?" Buffy said, raising an alarmed eyebrow.

"More like ten or eleven," Cole said, while he helped Paige pick up the candles from the floor. "There will be gap of two or three years between each element, and fire should be the last one."

"Buffy, where did you get this pendant?" Paige asked, putting the candles back in the drawer they had come from.

"I bought it," Buffy said, giving the pendant a suspicious look, "about one week ago. No wonder it was so cheap!" she muttered, shaking her head.

"Where did you buy it?" Willow asked.

"At 'Girls & Girls'. That little store that's two houses away from the Magic Box," Buffy said.

"I thought they had closed," Dawn said.

"Nearly," Anya said. "There was a small fire one month ago, and then someone broke in one week later and stole a lot of stuff, and some vandal threw a rock through the front window... But lately things have started to work out for them again..."

"Because they got rid of the pendant and passed their bad luck away," Xander finished, pointing at the pendant that Buffy was now holding as far from her body as the length of her arm allowed her.

"I feel so stupid," Buffy sighed.

"There was no way you could have known," Piper said, gently.

"So, what now?" Paige said. "We can't just throw out the pendant, or someone else will find it."

"I say we destroy it," Phoebe said.

"Yes, but how?" Buffy asked. "How do you destroy such a small piece of silver?"

"Piper, do you think you can explode it?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know," Piper said, giving the pendant a critical look. "Buffy, put it on the floor, will you? I'll see what I can do."

As Buffy placed the pendant on the floor and quickly backed away from it, Piper raised her hands and motioned them towards the pendant. There was a loud explosion, but it didn't affect the pendant, which just laid still on the floor.

"Ideas, anyone?" Piper said, giving the pendant an annoyed look.

"Do you think it's protecting itself?" Paige said.

"Maybe," Phoebe said, scratching her head.

"Maybe we could just keep it in a safe place," Xander offered, "where no one would find it."

"I don't think that would solve Buffy's problem," Phoebe said, shaking her head. "She'd still own the pendant, after all."

"What if it has to do with wearing the pendant, not owning it?" Willow offered.

"I wasn't wearing it when the ATM ate my credit card, nor when I almost got hit by the bus on Sunday," Buffy said, shaking her head.

"Also, I borrowed it on Saturday and nothing happened to me," Dawn added.

"You know," Buffy said, frowning at her sister, "it's only called 'borrowing' if you ask first."

"You borrow my stuff without asking, too!" Dawn protested.

"Yes," Piper said lightheartedly, "because that's what sisters do. Come on, we're done here: let's go back downstairs and discuss it over dinner."

"In the meantime," Paige said, "why don't we take turns 'owning' the pendant? I'm sure Buffy could use a break."

"Good idea," Phoebe said. "As long as anyone who's pregnant" -- she eyed Piper -- "or already has a curse of his own" -- she elbowed Cole lightly -- "is out of the deal."

"Works for me," Buffy said, picking the pendant from the floor. "So," she said, smirking as she showed the pendant around, "who'd like some bad luck?"

"I'll take it," Spike suddenly said, walking towards her. Ignoring the surprise on the others' faces, he held out his hand and, after a brief hesitation, Buffy placed the pendant on it.

"That's it?" Paige said, skeptically. "Isn't this the same as when Dawn borrowed it?"

"I think it's all in the intention," Piper said.

Spike hung the chain around his neck and slid the pendant into his shirt. As he took one step back, he stepped on a loose board, lost his balance and fell backwards, hitting a coat hanger, that fell on top of him, along with all the bags, scarves and hats that were hanging on it.

"Either that or we have a very clumsy vampire here," Phoebe added, giggling.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As things turned out, they didn't mention the curses during dinner, and talked about several other subjects instead. Willow had a lot of questions for Leo, Anya was worried about her upcoming wedding and wanted to know how Phoebe and Piper had dealt with the supernatural factor in theirs, Xander and Leo exchanged experiences on post-battle house restoration, and Cole caught Anya up with Sarsour's whereabouts. Between that and Piper's Caprese Pasta Salad, it was quite a pleasant dinner, and dessert found everyone in a very good mood.

"So," Phoebe said to Anya while she poured more chantilly on top of her fruit salad, "how did you and Xander meet?"

"Work," Anya said. "Xander's girlfriend wanted revenge on him."

"What about you and Cole?" Xander quickly asked Phoebe, clearly unwilling to talk about his ex and the reasons why she wanted revenge on him.

"Work, too," Phoebe said, shrugging. "Cole was sent to kill my sisters and me."

"So," Buffy said, looking at Phoebe and Cole with renewed interest, "Cole was still a demon when the two of you got together?"

"Yep," Cole said, nodding.

"But he was already good," Phoebe quickly added.

"The bad guy / good girl thing seems to have worked out pretty well for the two of you," Buffy said, somewhat melancholically, watching as Phoebe and Cole smiled at each other.

"Yes, it did," Phoebe said softly, while Cole brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"Maybe," Spike said, sourly, "because the bad guy had the guts to stick around."

The look Buffy gave him was a mix of hurt and anger, and despite the nonchalant look on his face Spike flinched slightly.

"Shut up, Spike," Xander said sharply.

"I..." Spike started to say, frowning.

"Just. Shut up."

Piper turned to Anya, in an attempt to break the awkward silence and change the subject:

"So, did your friend manage to find out Liusaidh's sigil?"

"Yes," Anya said, taking a piece of paper from the pocket of her jacket and giving it to Piper. It contained runic symbols like the ones Cole had written to try and summon Anya and, after taking a quick look at it, Piper handed it to Cole across the table.

"So," Phoebe said, while Cole folded the piece of paper and put it in his own pocket, "what exactly should we expect? What are the powers of a vengeance demon?"

"To grant vengeance wishes," Anya said. Phoebe raised an eyebrow and she explained: "The powers of a vengeance demon will expand in order to meet the task she's been assigned. If you wish that someone was an insect, the vengeance demon will have the power to turn people into insects; if you wish that someone was eaten by wolves, the vengeance demon will have the power to summon a pack of hungry wolves..."

"If one wishes someone was sent straight to hell...?" Cole asked, not so sure whether he wanted to hear the answer.

"Then you've got a **_really _**powerful vengeance demon to deal with," Anya said. "What on earth did you do?" she asked him, grimacing.

"What about our powers?" Paige asked, before Cole could answer. "Can she fight our powers?"

"If Phoebe's father specifically wished for that, yes," Anya said, nodding.

"He wished Leo couldn't help me," Cole said, and Phoebe drew a sharp intake of breath.

"Well, I was able to freeze her before," Piper said. "If dad didn't mention my powers, it's unlikely that he would've mentioned Phoebe's, or Paige's."

"Right," Anya said, "but once she is here, everything you do to try and stop her from getting Cole, she'll develop a new power to fight it."

"So, I won't be able to freeze her?"

"I don't know about that," Anya admitted, "because I had never seen a power like yours. But I know she can develop the power to deflect an energy ball that is sent towards her, or to break through a force field that's between her and her victim, or..."

"How can we defeat her, then?" Paige asked, slightly impatient.

"By being one step ahead of her," Phoebe said. "She will only develop the power to fight us once she knows what powers she'll be fighting. We have to take her by surprise and destroy the power center before she has time to counter attack."

"Then I say Piper freezes her," Paige said, "and I call for the necklace."

"What do you mean, call for the necklace?" Willow asked.

"I mean this," Paige said, pointing at Willow's napkin. "Napkin," she called, and Ben clapped his hands in delight as the napkin orbed to her waiting hand.

Paige blew her nephew a kiss and handed the napkin back to Willow, but frowned when Anya shook her head.

"No," Anya said.

"What do you mean, no?"

"I mean, no, it won't work," Anya said. "The link between a vengeance demon and her power center is magical, it can't be broken with magic. Not even by a Charmed One."

"Are you sure?" Paige asked. "Has it ever been tried?"

"Not that I know," Anya admitted. "But you should try to get the necklace by non-magical ways."

"It won't hurt to try magic," Paige insisted.

"Probably not," Anya said, looking slightly annoyed. "But it won't work, either."

"If it doesn't, we're gonna need a distraction," Phoebe said.

"That shouldn't be hard to provide," Buffy said. "I mean, with the eleven of us, I..."

"Eleven?" Phoebe said, raising her eyebrows.

"Buffy," Piper gently said, "we weren't exactly planning on having you guys around when we did that."

"Why not?" Buffy said, surprised.

"For starters," Phoebe said, "you already have your own curse to worry about."

"It's Spike's curse, now," Buffy pointed out.

"Besides," Paige said, "we're supposed to protect the innocents, not drag them into our problems."

"Call it professional courtesy," Buffy said. "You help me with my curse, I help you with yours."

"Buffy, thanks, but we can handle that," Cole said. "And it'll be easier if we don't have to worry about your safety."

"I won't stand in the way, if that's what you're implying," Buffy said, looking offended.

"I'm not..." Cole started to say. He got sight of Spike's half smile and said, frowning: "What's so funny?"

"You have no idea what kind of hornet's nest you have stuck your hand into," the vampire said with an amused grin.

"I'll tell you what," Buffy said to Cole. "Let's arm wrestle over this."

"What!" Cole exclaimed, astounded.

"Let's arm wrestle," Buffy calmly said. "You and me. If you win, we'll wait at the hotel until you call and say it's safe for us to come over. If I win, I'll help you get the vengeance demon."

"Buffy," Cole said, not so sure whether to be shocked or amused, "I am **_not_** gonna arm wrestle with you."

"Why not?" she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Because..." _Because you're a girl!_ he almost said, but held his tongue just in time. "Because I'm not!" he exclaimed, frustrated. "Buffy, this is nonsense; I know that you're the Slayer, but arm wrestling isn't about prowess or speed: it's about brute strength."

"Are you afraid?" Buffy asked with a soft smile, and a shocked silence fell over the room, as Cole's eyes grew as wide as saucers.

"What?" he asked.

"I said," she repeated softly, "are you afraid, big guy?"

Cole looked at the girl smiling at him across the table, while his family looked from him to Buffy, stunned, and the Slayer's friends tried to hide their amusement.

"Let's wrestle," he said in a low voice, and Buffy grinned.

She stood up and went sit at the corner of the table, next to him. The awkwardness of the situation was evident as both she and Cole took position, their elbows resting on the table, and her hand could only touch his wrist. Paige promptly stood up and left the room, coming back a few seconds later with a heavy dictionary that she placed on the table next to Cole's arm, so that Buffy could rest her elbow on it.

"Anya, would you do the honors?" Cole asked.

"Sure," Anya said, promptly standing up.

As Cole closed his hand around Buffy's, Anya placed her own hand over his and said:

"Ready. Set. Go!"

Anya took her hand off Cole's, and the muscles of the arms of both Cole and Buffy tensed as each one started to try and force the other's arm down towards the table. Despite what he had said about brute strength, Cole knew the importance of never underestimating an opponent: he only had to think of his mother to know how much strength could hide behind a pretty face, and that sometimes an opponent with half your size could use your own strength against you if you let your guard down. At first, he simply kept his arm still, just making enough pressure to hold Buffy off; then he slowly started to increase the pressure, intending to pin her arm without hurting her. But he wasn't at all prepared for the Slayer's sheer strength, and when her arm didn't move an inch he frowned in confusion. The look on Cole's face quickly went from surprise to astonishment and, as Buffy decided that she had given him enough time already and started to wrestle for real, it turned into a mix of shock and disbelief as she began to slowly yet inexorably push his arm down towards the table.

When Cole's hand finally touched the table, Buffy let go of his hand and leaned back on her chair, a small grin on her lips as she stared at him. Without a word, she wiped the sweat off her forehead and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear.

The heavy silence was finally broken by Leo, who shot Cole an incredulous glare, saying:

"You lost to a girl!"

The look of betrayal on Leo's face was so evident that the girls didn't even bother to take offense on his outburst: he and Cole had arm wrestled before and the Whitelighter had lost, which meant that, when Cole lost to Buffy, so did Leo.

"For all that matters," Xander said, with a sheepish shrug, "you were not the first one."

Spike snorted and Buffy raised a mocking eyebrow towards him, saying:

"Save it, Spike; you didn't even last as long as Cole did!"

The vampire huffed, annoyed, but didn't reply, and Buffy turned to Piper, saying with a smile:

"So, what time tomorrow?"


	11. Liusaidh

Note #1: First of all, I'm _**so**_ sorry for the delay! I lost the entire chapter due to a hard disk failure, and had to rewrite it. The good thing is, I like this version much more than I liked the previous one. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. :-)

Note #2: Shel asked in her review if Buffy is in love with Spike. Right now Buffy is in a very confused place: she's been sleeping with Spike, but her friends don't know about it. He has told her that he loves her, but she refuses to acknowledge it, let alone to love him back: he's a vampire, he's evil, yada yada yada... So, does she love him? Opinions are divided: some viewers say she doesn't, others -- me included -- say that she's just in denial. The show writers... well, what do they know, anyway? ;-)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Do you think fish get bored?" Phoebe asked, watching as two angelfish slowly swam back and forth across the fish tank. "I know I would, if I had to spend my whole life inside a glass box."

"I don't think they're smart enough to get bored," Cole said, smiling as he hugged her from behind.

"Don't let Ben hear you call his fish dumb," Phoebe said, giggling. She leaned slightly back, feeling his muscular chest against her back and relishing in the strong, loving arms that held her.

"Any creature that isn't smart enough to stop eating before they die of overeating is way past dumb," Cole stated, leaning down to nibble at her earlobe.

"The fish are watching!..." she protested, half joking, whilst tilting her head to give him better access.

"So much for their being bored," he said as he turned her around to face him and lowered his mouth to hers.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Paige exclaimed as she and Piper entered the living room, coming from the kitchen. "Save your energy for Liusaidh!"

"We need to start locking that door," Cole said, mock glaring at Paige, and Phoebe playfully slapped his arm.

"ItÆs a shame," Piper said, placing her hands on her hips and looking around the room. "The house isn't even fully furnished yet, and we're already gonna start trashing it."

"At least there's plenty of space to fight," Paige reasoned, placing the cardboard box she had brought on the sofa.

"Well, it was just a matter of time until it had a baptism of fire," Cole said, with a sigh. "Just try not to destroy anything that we still haven't finished paying for."

"Which is...?" Piper asked, taking a large plastic bag full of powdered saffron out of the box and handing it to Phoebe.

"Pretty much everything," Phoebe admited, receiving the bag from her sister's hands.

She followed Paige as her younger sister took five candles out of the box and walked to the middle of the room: the sofa had been pushed against the wall, and so had been two puff chairs and the coffee table. Paige placed the candles in a large circle in the middle of the room, and Phoebe began to gingerly spill powdered saffron inside the circle, drawing the symbols that formed Liusaidh's sigil. When Leo orbed in, a few minutes later, she was already putting the plastic bag back in the cardboard box.

"So," she asked him, "how did you leave him?"

"Happy as could be," Leo said, smiling. "But a major sugar rush is to be expected," he warned her and Cole. "Vanessa rented the Snow White DVD and, when I left, Ben was snuggled on the couch with her, with a half eaten brownie in his hands, singing "Hi Ho Hi Ho" at the top of his lungs.

"Baby, we **_need_** to set some ground rules for when Darryl and Vanessa babysit," Phoebe said, turning to Cole.

Cole nodded, sighing. Darryl and Vanessa were crazy about Ben, and they managed to spoil him even worse than Victor did.

"He's gonna be a basket case tonight, isn't he?" he asked, grimacing.

"You bet," Phoebe sighed. "How do you think Anya would feel about baby-sitting another Turner?" she asked hopefully.

Before Cole could answer, they heard Xander's car pull up in the driveway and park behind Cole and Phoebe's Buick. As they all went outside to meet the Scooby Gang, they saw the girls coming out of the car while Xander turned off the engine.

"So," Anya said to Cole, looking at the new house, "this is your house?"

"Yes," Cole said with a proud grin, "I'll give you the tour when we're done with Liusaidh."

"I thought Spike was coming, too," Phoebe said as she saw Xander come out of the car and close the driver's door.

As if on key, they heard a thud coming from the back of the car. Followed by another one. And another one.

"Spike!" Xander exclaimed, slapping his hand on his forehead in mock embarrassment. "Right! Almost forgot about him!"

He walked around the car and opened the baggage compartment, letting out a very upset vampire.

"Just because I can't breath," Spike said, glaring at him, "it doesn't mean I can't notice how badly your car smells."

"Just be glad I bothered to park out of the sun," Xander said flatly.

"Come on, people, let's get inside," Piper broke in, ushering them through the door, "we have a demon to summon."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"So," Buffy said, once they were in the living room, "what's the plan?"

"Plan A," Phoebe said, "is basically: we summon Liusaidh, Piper freezes her, and Paige calls for the necklace."

"And when it fails," Anya said, "what's plan B?"

"**_If_** it fails," Paige said, "it's up to the rest of you to provide a distraction while Phoebe grabs the necklace."

"Why Phoebe?" Buffy asked.

"Great fighter," Piper said, counting on her fingers, "not pregnant, not cursed, can levitate and catch Liusaidh by surprise."

"You do know that plan A won't work, don't you?" Anya said, tugging on Cole's sleeve and pulling him towards the corner of the room.

"Even if it's a fat chance," Cole reasoned, "it can't hurt to try."

"I don't like this," Anya said, frowning.

"Well, I don't like the fact that you're here today with no powers to protect yourself," he retorted, "but that didn't stop you from coming, did it?"

Before Anya could reply, Piper called out:

"No doubts? Everyone's ready?" When the others nodded, she proceeded: "Then it's summoning time."

While Paige lit the candles, Leo went stand behind Piper, ready to orb her out if needed. Piper wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of leaving before the battle was over, but she knew that she should, if things got out of control and Melinda was in danger.

Meanwhile, Cole walked towards Phoebe, who was across the room from Piper.

"Be careful," he said, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"You, too," she said. "And remember, if things go wrong, let Paige orb you out: Liusaidh won't hurt us if you're not here."

"I know," he sighed, not at all happy with the idea of leaving, either. "But since your team will be the only one without the means to orb out, I want both Buffy and Spike to fight by your side."

He unwillingly left her side and crossed the room towards Paige, who had just finished lighting the candles, while Buffy and Spike took their places next to Phoebe. When Anya stalked towards him, followed by Xander, Cole frowned, knowing that next to him would be the most dangerous place to be: the look Anya gave him, though, was enough to tell him that she wouldn't be convinced to stay across the room, next to Leo and Piper. Leo then motioned for Willow and Dawn to join him and Piper, and with that everyone was in place, three groups standing around the room with the candles and Liusaidh's sigil in the center.

Piper raised a piece of paper containing the summoning spell, and as Phoebe and Paige did the same, the three sisters read the spell, and everyone held their breaths as the air flickered inside the circle, and the candles started to burn out, one by one. The last candle didn't burn out, though; instead, the other candles started to light up again all by themselves, one after the other, while everyone watched in bewilderment.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Willow asked, unsure.

"I don't think so," Paige said, frowning. "What's..."

"Oh, crap!" Anya exclaimed, her eyes growing wide when the powdered saffton inside the circle started to move, forming different symbols.

"What?" Phoebe asked.

"Brace yourselves," Anya said, nervously. "That's D'Hoffryn's sigil."

"Who's..."

Phoebe never finished the sentence as all the candles burnt out at the same time, and a loud thunder announced the arrival of a tall, bald demon, with a wrinkled face, white beard and mustache and three pairs of pointed cat-like ears, wearing a long, dark robe. Piper tried to freeze him, but the Head of Vengeance barely paid her any attention, saying coldly:

"Now, don't be stupid, and I won't have to kill you. We're only here for..." -- he clapped his hands, and Liusaidh immediately appeared by his side -- "...who?"

"That one," Liusaidh said, pointing at Cole.

When D'Hoffryn turned towards Cole, he saw Anya standing by his side, and flicked his tongue in annoyance, giving her a reproachful look:

"So that's how the witches discovered Liusaidh's sigil."

Anya flinched, but sustained his look, and after a while D'Hoffryn cracked a somewhat amused smile.

"Oh, Anyanka, you spirited little imp you!..." he sighed, shaking his head.

Liusaidh huffed, glaring at Anya, while D'Hoffryn watched them with an indulgent smile.

"Shouldn't a vengeance demon be able to deal with her tasks all by herself?" Anya asked D'Hoffryn, whilst frowning at Liusaidh.

"What can I say?" D'Hoffryn sighed, opening his arms and giving Anya a pleasant, almost shepish smile. "I care about my girls. Couldn't just let this little one be summoned by the infamous Charmed Ones. But," he added, "she will do the job all by herself. She knows what's best for her." -- the smile was still there, but suddenly it wasn't pleasant at all.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Paige decided that it was a good time to call for the necklace.

"Necklace!" she said, reaching out her hand.

The necklace didn't orb to her waiting hand, though, and Paige yelped in surprise when she was sent flying towards the wall by a forceful blow. Cole and Xander ducked and dodged her, but Anya didn't move fast enough, and Paige's elbow hit her hard on the face, knocking her to the floor while Paige flew over her head and crashed against the wall, falling limp to the floor.

When Leo orbed towards Paige, D'Hoffryn waved his hand towards Piper, Dawn and Willow. The others gasped in horror when Piper stumbled backwards, frantically waving her arms, but Buffy leaned her foot on the arm of the sofa and pushed hard, sending it sliding accross the room just in time for Piper to land heavily on it.

Meanwhile, D'Hoffryn seemed to consider that his job was done and teletransported himself to the bottom of the stairs, where he sat on the steps and prepared to watch the battle with the contented look of a man watching his favorite show on TV.

Leo had just finished healing Paige, and together they orbed to Willow and Dawn, who had missed the sofa and were lying unconscious on the floor. While they healed the girls, Spike decided that plan B was in order: he vamped and ran snarling towards Liusaidh, circling her and causing her to turn her back to Phoebe. Phoebe then seized the opportunity and ran towards her, too, reaching out for the chain from which the necklace hung. As soon as her fingers closed around the chain, she quickly levitated, intending to be out of Liusaidh's reach before the demoness could react. She suddenly felt a strong hand grab her by the ankle, though, and yelped in surprise when Liusaidw swang her, using her as a baseball bat to hit Spike and sending them both flying towards Xander.

Caught by surprise, Phoebe let go of the chain, and it flew accross the room and fell into the fish tank, scaring rainbowfish, green swordtails and angelfish and making them hide amidst the ornamental plants. Anya jumped back to her feet and darted towards the fish tank, and so did Liusaidh. The ex-vengeance demon got there a split second before the vengeance demon did, but when Anya reached out for the necklace her former co-worker grabbed her by the hair, exclaiming angrily:

"Bitch!"

Liusaidh yanked Anya's head back and shoved her to the floor. When she tried to dip her hand into the water to pick up the necklace, though, Cole motioned his hand towards the fish tank and commanded:

"Freeze!"

Liusaidh howled in pain when her hand hit a solid ice block; she turned to Cole with fiery eyes and, before Anya could stop her, launched herself towards him. As she grabbed the front of his shirt, though, her hand closed around the amulet that Piper, Phoebe and Paige had made for him, and she screamed in pain and quickly let go of him, while he stumbled backwards until he reached the wall behind him.

"What the hell was that?" she exclaimed, staring at her badly burnt hand.

"The Power of Three." -- Phoebe's angry voice came from behind her, and Liusaidh's shoulder was grabbed and she was swirled around to meet Phoebe's fist. When she fell to the floor, though, D'Hoffryn flicked his hand and Phoebe found herself flying accross the room. She hit Buffy, who was coming to her help, and the two girls fell on top of each other, while D'Hoffryn said, with a hint of impatience in his voice:

"Just do it, Liusaidh."

Liusaidh got back to her feet and turned to Cole, saying in a low, growling voice:

"Wish granted."

"NO!" Phoebe cried out in horror when the portal was opened behind Cole's feet and he was dragged into the abyss. Piper desperately tried to freeze him, even though she knew it wouldn't work, and Leo tried to orb after him, only to find himself orbing out and then back in the same place, unable to help Cole just as Victor had wished he'd be. He was startled when Anya grabbed his arm forcefully and demanded:

"Rescue **_me_**."

Without waiting for an answer, she made a running dash towards the portal through which Cole had just disappeared and, before anyone could stop her or even realize what she was doing, she dove head first towards the abyss of hell.

As Leo understood what she meant, he orbed out again, this time following her. Since Victor had only wished that he couldn't help Cole, he didn't find any resistance and quickly disappeared through the portal, too. When Liusaidh understood what had just happened, she screamed in fury; before she could do something to counter attack, though, Xander flung himself towards her, bumping heavily into her and knocking her to the floor.

Paige looked at the necklace that was stuck in the ice inside the fish tank, and it dawned on her that right now there was no bond to break, since it wasn't in Liusaidh's possession. She took a deep breath and reached out for it again:

"Necklace!"

When the necklace appeared in her hand, she lost no time in throwing it to Piper, who raised her hands and angrily exploded it in midair.

"NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Liusaidh's howling scream overpowered the chiming sound of Leo's orb as he, Anya and Cole collapsed to the floor in a disgruntled heap, and Piper, Xander and Phoebe darted towards them. Cole had barely sat up and Phoebe was already in his arms, throwing her arms around his neck, while Anya was lifted from the floor and wrapped in Xander's embrace. Piper couldn't lower her very pregnant body to the floor, so Leo simply threw his arms around her legs and rested his head against her belly, closing his eyes and feeling her trembling hands caress his face and his hair, while Melinda kicked vigorously against his face, as if she, too, wanted to tell daddy how scared they both had been for him.

The moment was broken by the sound of D'Hoffryn's clapping hands. Ignoring the looks of fear and anger turned towards him, he stood up and walked towards them, unabashed.

"Bravo," he said, smiling at Anya, and Xander held her tighter, his arms wrapped protectively around her. "You never cease to surprise me, my dear."

Anya pulled away from Xander slightly, just enough to look D'Hoffryn in the eyes.

"It stops here," she said, looking very tired, but very determined, too. "The wish was made to Liusaidh: only she could grant it. That's the rule."

"That's the rule," D'Hoffryn repeated, nodding his head in agreement. "The curse is no more."

"What about me?" Liusaidh whined. She was sitting on the floor, with the broken pieces of the necklace in her hands.

"Sorry," D'Hoffryn said coldly, "I don't work with humans." Then, turning to Anya again, he added: "See you at the wedding."

With that, he vanished in the air.

"You invited him to the wedding??" Leo asked, giving Anya a flabbergasted look. He stood on shaking legs, one arm around Piper's shoulders.

"Well," Anya said, shrugging, "I invited Halfrek and some other vengeance demons. I couldn't leave him out: that would've been awfully rude."

"Rude," Leo echoed in a weak voice. He opened his mouth, closed it again, then looked at Piper, giving her a helpless look. "That would've been rude."

"Vengeance demons are different," she sighed tiredly.

"You jealous bitch!" Liusaidh suddenly hissed, standing up and turning angrily to Anya. "Because you lost your job, you want everyone else to lose theirs, too!"

"Oh, please!" Anya snorted. "I didn't make you lose your job: you lost it because of your own stupid carelessness."

"**_My_** stupid carelessness??" Liusaidh exclaimed. "I'm not the one who once turned the wrong guy into a cockroach!"

"Oh, for Hades' sake!" Anya exclaimed angrily, unconsciously reverting to the vocabulary of her demon days. "That was almost five hundred years ago, can't you let it go? How could I know that he had a twin?"

"I knew," Liusaidh said.

"I knew," Anya said, mimicking her and rolling her eyes. "Well, at least I never asked D'Hoffryn to do my job."

"Like you had to ask," Liusaidh said with a sneer. "You were his favorite: it was always, Anyanka this, and Anyanka that, telling everyone how amazing his golden girl was. He always assigned you the easiest tasks, and very conveniently closed his eyes to your mistakes."

"You rancorous, lying bitch!" Anya exclaimed, furious.

"Ass kisser!" Liusaidh spat back, and Anya gasped, her eyes widening in shock and outrage.

"Take it back!" she demanded.

"Make me!"

Before Xander could stop her, Anya charged against Liusaidh, reaching out for the other woman's hair. When Liusaidh shrieked in pain and anger, trying to scratch Anya's face with her long fingernails, Piper raised her hands and froze them both, exclaiming in exasperation:

"Oh, for crying out loud! A little dignity here, please! Bursting into flames, cursing and threating us, that's acceptable. But a cat fight?!?" -- she grimaced, giving the frozen girls an incredulous look -- "What's next? Soon we'll have the relatives of the demons we vanquish seeking compensation for moral damages!"

Paige sighed and held Liusaidh's arm, orbing her accross the room so that Piper could unfreeze the two girls. Liusaidh still scratched the air in front of her before she realized that Anya was no longer there; then she huffed, frustrated, and said, glaring at Anya:

"Fine! I'm out of here! When does the next train to Tir-na-Bea leave?"

Anya looked at Xander, who looked at Piper, who just shrugged.

"The train to where?" Phoebe asked.

As Liusaidh snorted and stalked towards the front door, Cole said, turning to Leo:

"Isn't it near Tir-nan-Og?"

"Is there a train from this town to Tir-nan-Og?" Liusaidh said, stopping on her tracks and looking at him. "That would do it."

"It's in a different realm!" Leo said.

"Gee, thank you for telling me that," Liusaidh scoffed, eyeballing him.

"You can't get there by train," Cole said.

"Of course I can!" Liusaidh said, impatiently. "I just need..." -- she suddenly stopped, giving him an incredulous look -- "Are you saying that there are no inter-realm railroads leaving this town?"

"Not just this town," Cole patiently explained. "This realm."

"WHAT!" Liusaidh shrieked. "How am I supposed to go home?"

"Leo," Piper said, running her hand accross her face, "can you orb her to what's-its-name-Bee before I forget that I'm not allowed to use my powers to hurt humans?"

"Sure," Leo said. Liusaidh quickly took a step back, giving him a suspicious look, and he added, rolling his eyes: "Whitelighters aren't allowed to hurt humans, either. No matter how badly they want to," he added under his breath.

"Just get me out of here," she said grouchly, holding out her hand.

Leo sighed and took her hand; when he orbed out with her, Spike said, raising a mocking eyebrow:

"Such a sweet girl."

"Are you okay?" Anya said, ignoring him and walking towards Cole.

"Yes," he said, smiling at her. "Th..." -- he gasped when her hand shot up, grabbing his ear and twisting it painfully -- "Ouch!!! Stop, Anya, no, stop it!"

It took Phoebe a couple of stunned seconds to react, but before she did anything, Anya said between clenched teeth, glaring at Cole:

"Yes. It hurts. To try!"

"Okay, okay, I know, I'm sorry..." -- Cole tried to swat her hand away, but she didn't let go of his ear and forced him to bend down closer instead -- "OUCH!"

"When I say 'no', it's not because I'm mean," she scolded him, "it's because I want what is best for you! Can't you understand that?"

"I do. I can. I'm sorry, Anya, please let go, you're gonna rip off my ear."

She huffed and let go of him, and Cole promptly straightened up, covering the offended ear with his hand. To add insult to injury, he could see the amused smiles that the others were trying to hide without much success -- or, in Spike's case, not trying at all. When he turned to Anya again, though, he found himself unable to be angry at her: the beautiful face that was turned towards him, still frowning, had a large bruise -- a result of Liusaidh's throwing her to the floor earlier -- and the eye that Paige's elbow had hit was almost entirely closed. And he bet she would have her share of nightmares on the days to come, just like he and Leo would.

"I'm sorry," he repeated softly, and this time he really meant it. "I should've listened to you."

He touched her face and added:

"Thank you, Anya. You never let me down."

"Oh, well..." Anya sighed, with a slightly embarassed shrugh. She patted his chest, saying: "I just didn't want anything bad to happen to you."

Paige cleared her throat and Anya turned around to look at her.

"For what it's worth," she said, giving Anya a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry, too. You were the vengeance demon expert, yet I didn't listen to your advice. Let me heal you: it's the least I can do."

While she healed Anya, Piper approached Cole. She stood before him for a moment, chewing her lower lip, then said with a teary voice:

"I'm not crying."

He nodded with a smile and gingerly put his arms around her, pulling her towards him and saying:

"Good girl."

Piper managed to maneuver herself and Melinda into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his waist, saying in whisper:

"I'm so glad you're here."

"So am I, big sister," he said, gently fondling her hair. "So am I."

He kissed her forehead and held her tight before letting go; before they broke the hug, though, Melinda decided to share the moment the only way she knew.

"Hey!" Cole protested, quickly taking a step back. "Tell her not to kick me," he said to Piper.

"Why?" she said, giggling. "She kicks me all the time."

Phoebe smiled when Cole let out a long suffering sigh: he seemed to be dealing with his near hell experience much better than he had the last time, and she was sure it had much to do with the fact that now he had a loving family that he knew would always be there for him when he needed them.

When Paige finished healing bruises and excoriations on Buffy, Xander and Phoebe, she walked towards Cole, too.

"Keep in mind that this is a one time event," she warned, giving him a stern look.

Then, before Cole could answer, she threw her arms around his neck. Cole was so surprised that he almost didn't react fast enough to hug her back before she pulled away. When he finally put his arms around her and held her tight, she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder:

"Hell is off limits to you: you're not allowed to go there ever again."

"I'll do my best," he said, smiling.

He kissed her forehead like he had done to Piper, and she pulled away, breaking the hug. Cole looked at Leo, who had just orbed back, and said with a small smile:

"Altough Leo is getting better at rescuing me from Hell: I'd say he's improved his time by a good ten seconds."

"Which is a lot of time to spend in Hell," Leo remarked, smiling as he walked towards Cole and slapped his shoulder. "But I'm with Paige in this one," he added, his hand still on Cole's shoulder as he sobered and looked his brother in law in the eyes. "No more Hell for you: I'll talk to Victor myself if it's necessary."

"I'll talk to dad," Phoebe said, putting her arms around Cole's waist, and he put one arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "It's about time he knows the part I played in that story."

"We'll both talk to him," Piper said. "This is not about you and Cole only: this is family business." Phoebe gave her an uncertain look, and Piper added, winking at her sister: "Besides, I'm pregnant. If dad yells at us, I'll just start to cry: that'll freak him out."

Leo chuckled slightly and touched his wife's face. As he looked around to see if anyone else needed healing, he noticed that Spike was limping painfully: the vampire noticed his stare, and tilted his head to the side, giving him a sardonic look.

"You can't heal evil," he said, flatly. "I know."

"Yeah," Leo said, nodding. He hesitated, then said, reaching out his hand: "But I can have the pendant."

Spike frowned, giving him a perplexed look, but Leo just held out his hand, and he finally took the chain that hung around his neck and placed in on the palm of the Whitelighter's hand. Leo silently hung the chain around his neck and slid the pendant into his shirt, ignoring the vampire's intrigued look. He didn't really like Spike; he liked him even less than he had liked Cole when this one had first started to fight by their side, trying to win the approval of Phoebe's family and to prove himself worthy of her love. But Leo was honest enough with himself to realize that his prejudice and lack of vision had almost cost a good man's life; what's more, it had almost damned a soul that otherwise could have been saved. Leo sighed: he didn't intend to be friends with Spike, but he would make damn well sure the vampire had the chance to show what he was made of before judging him.

"Sweetie," Phoebe said, putting her arm around Piper's shoulders, "you and Melinda should have some rest now. Why don't you go lie down for a little nap while we clean up this mess and fix us something to eat?"

"That'd be nice," Piper sighed. "But do you need everyone to help you here, or can I take my husband with me?" she asked, smiling at Leo.

"Paige," Leo said, taking Piper in his arms while Phoebe dismissed them both with a wave of her hand, "can you pick up Ben at Darryl's?"

"Sure," Paige said, smiling. "Should I go get him now?" she asked Phoebe.

"No, let's clean up this mess first," Phoebe said, looking around the room, that had powdered saffron everywhere. "I don't want him rolling on the floor and getting all... Oh my God, Cole, the fish!" she shrieked as her eyes fell on the fish tank.

"What about the... Oh, shit! Melt, melt!" Cole said, frantically waving his hand towards the fish tank.

The ice block promptly turned into water again, and the fish floated towards the surface, where they stood motionless, floating upside down.

"Oh, no! Did I kill them?" Cole said, rushing towards the fish tank.

Phoebe joined him, grimacing at the sight of the colorful little bodies floating helplessly in the water. As she looked at Cole, she was surprised to see how sorrowful he looked, and she held his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Oh, baby..." she sighed.

"Maybe they're just stressed," Dawn said, from behind them. Phoebe and Cole turned towards her, and she explained, blushing slightly: "I read that fish can sometimes float upside down when they're stressed. And sudden changes in water conditions can be very stressful for them."

"Dawnie, I don't think the fish were able to breathe while the water was frozen," Willow said, gently.

"They don't die right away when they're deprived of oxygen," Dawn said. "And some species can actually survive for some time out of the water. Carps, and, uh... catfishes... and bettas, I think..."

Buffy gave her an intrigued look, and she added with a hint of impatience:

"Well, it was a school project!"

"I think that green one over there is moving," Paige said, pointing at a swordtail that was opening and closing his mouth, as if gasping for air.

"So, what should we do?" Cole asked, anxiously.

"Well..." Dawn, said, giving the fish a critical look. "If you melted the ice, the water probably is still too cold for them. Can't you make it warmer?"

"I don't know," he said, unsure. "I've never done that. At least, not on purpose," he added, remembering previous night's incident.

By then, they were all gathered around the fish tank, looking from the fish to Cole.

"You can do that, baby," Phoebe said, reassuringly. "Just relax and let your powers work."

Cole took a deep breath and looked at the fish tank, biting his lower lip. At first, nothing happened, but then the mercury level in the thermometer attached to the inner side of the fish tank slowly started to raise. When it reached 75 F, Cole stopped, saying:

"But the fish don't seem to be getting any better. Why aren't they getting better?"

"Maybe the shock was too much for them," Piper said.

"But they're not dead yet!..." Cole sighed, watching the fish. "There must be..." -- he suddenly turned to Leo, giving the Whitelighter a hopeful look.

"What!" Leo exclaimed. "No, Cole! I can't heal the fish!"

"Why not?" Cole asked.

"They're **_fish_**!"

"They're innocents," Cole said.

Leo gave him an impatient look, but he pursued:

"Come on, it's not fair! A dog would've been able to leave the room when the fight started, but the fish were helpless to protect themselves: we were the ones who should have taken the fish tank out of the room."

"Cole, for God's sake, they're fish," Leo said again.

"They're innocents," Cole repeated, stubbornly. "They're just these harmless, stupid little things that didn't do anything wrong, and they're suffering because we didn't know better than keeping them here while we summoned a vengeance demon."

"Is this about Ben?" Leo asked. "Because I can assure you that he'll never notice if you replace these fish with new ones."

"It's not about Ben," Cole insisted, "it's about the fish!"

"Why do you care so much about the fish?" Leo asked, throwing his hands into the air.

"Because that's the kind of evil I used to be," Cole sighed.

Leo frowned slightly, giving him an inquisitive look, and he proceeded:

"Remember what Piper was saying the other night, about the different kinds of evil? Well, that's the kind of evil I was: I wanted to rise in rank, and if that meant that I should cause pain and suffering to other creatures..." -- he shrugged, giving Leo a sorrowful look -- "So be it. I just didn't care. I didn't actually have anything against most of my victims: they were just harmless, stupid little things that stood between me and my goals."

Leo sighed and rubbed his face: he could see that it meant a lot to Cole, and he knew very well how difficult it was for his friend to make peace with his evil past. Besides, he kind of felt sorry for the fish, too: Leo hated to see any creature suffer. And to top it all off, every woman in the room was now giving him the _please-pretty-please-with-sugar-and-honey-on-top_ look!...

He made a silent pray, hoping the Elders weren't looking, and walked towards the fish tank, muttering to Piper:

"If Melinda wants a pet, we're gonna buy her a stuffed animal."

Piper smiled as he raised his hands, positioning them over the fish tank with the palms down. A bright light started to emanate from them, surrounding the entire fish tank, and the fish started to recover, at first just swimming in dazed circles near the surface, then slowly going back to their usual behavior.

"Thank you," Cole said when Leo withdrew his hands and backed away from the fish tank.

"Don't thank me yet," Leo told him, placing his arms around Piper, "We're gonna have a good talk about that, later."

He orbed out before Cole could reply, and Cole leaned down and planted a light kiss on Dawn's temple, making her blush to the roots of her hair.

"Thank you, too, Dawn."

While Dawn stammered an embarrassed answer, Paige turned to Phoebe, saying:

"So, when you told Piper that we'd be in charge of dinner, you didn't mean...?"

"Cooking dinner for eleven?" -- Phoebe raised her hands in feign horror -- "God, no!"

She and Paige exchanged an understanding smile, and she turned to the others, saying:

"I hope everyone likes pizza."


	12. Hi Ho!

Note #1: Those of you who have watched Charmed's Season 5 probably know that the name of Darryl's wife is Shelia, but I stopped watching the show after the season finale of Season 4, and so I only learned her name a few months ago, while reading a story by a fellow fanfiction writer. By then, I had already referred to her as Vanessa in "So Mote It Be" (3rd installment of this series), so I decided to keep the name I had chosen. I think it has become pretty clear by now that Spelling et all don't have any power over my Charmed universe.

Note #2: Nightcrawler, I absolutely loved your suggestion, and I'll certainly put it to use on future installments. :-)

Note #3: Shel, we're still four or five chapters away from over: there's still Buffy's bad luck to deal with, remember?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When Darryl got home from work, he only had to follow the sound of laughter and splashing to find his wife and Ben in the bathroom, having a lot of fun. Ben was in the bathtub, surrounded by several tub toys, while Vanessa was kneeling beside the bathtub, playing with him. They didn't notice Darryl right away, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned on the doorframe, watching them with a smile and thinking, not for the first time, that maybe it was time he and his wife started to think about children of their own.

Ben was the first one to notice his presence, and waved a wet little hand towards Uncle Darryl, greeting him cheerfully:

"Hi!"

"Hey, sport." -- Darryl uncrossed his arms and walked towards them. "Hi, beautiful," he said, leaning down to kiss Vanessa lightly on the lips.

"Hi, you," she said, giving him a slightly surprised smile. "Why did you come home so early?"

"What do you mean, early?" he said, puzzled. "It's almost six, Nessie."

"What! That can't be, I..." -- Vanessa looked at her watch and her eyes widened slightly -- "That can't be..." she muttered again, shaking her head.

"I think," Darryl said, smiling, "that the two of you were having so much fun that you lost track of time."

"No, Darryl," Vanessa insisted, "it was 5 o'clock when I put Ben in the bathtub. Here," she said, taking his hand and dipping it into the water. "The water should be cold after almost one hour."

"You're right," Darryl said, frowning as he looked from his wife to the water, whichwas still pleasantly warm. "It should."

He hesitated, giving the water a confused look, then sighed and turned to Vanessa again.

"Nessie, you must have gotten the time wrong. That's the only logical explan..."

Darryl stopped in the middle of the sentence as the same thought hit him and his wife. Without a word, they both turned to Ben, who was oblivious to their interplay and to the wary looks turned towards him, very busy pushing a rubber ball towards the bottom of the bathtub. Ben had just discovered that if you held a rubber toy under the water for a while and then released it, it promptly swam back to the surface, usually jumping out of the water with a very amusing "plop" sound.

"Do you think...?" Vanessa asked, with her eyes still trained on Ben.

"I..." Darryl said, watching as the toddler let go of the ball and squealed in delight when it dashed up and popped out of the water. "No," he finally said, shaking his head. "No, Cole and Phoebe would've told us. Besides, Cole said that it'll be a good two years before his powers start to develop."

"Well..." -- Vanessa reached out and stopped Ben before the toddler stood up to look for a rubber fish that he had thrown out of the bathtub. "I guess you're right," she sighed. "I must have gotten the time wrong."

She gently stroked Ben's cheek, saying:

"You're such a good boy: you wouldn't go magical on Auntie Nessie, would you?"

"My!" Ben muttered, frowing and looking around the bathtub. Why was Auntie Nessie talking about magic when there were much more pressing matters to deal with? Didn't she see that his fish was missing?

"Here, sport," Darryl said picking the toy from the floor and handing it to Ben with a smile. "I think this is yours."

"Hi!" Ben exclaimed happily, grabbing the fish and promptly dipping it into the water.

"Well," Vanessa sighed, while Ben released the fish and watched with gleeful excitement as it shot up and popped out of the water, "if it's almost six, then this little guy had better get ready to go home. Come here, sweetie," she said reaching out for Ben.

"No!" he said, shaking his head vigorously, and pushing her hands away.

"Yeah, I know how much you love to play in the bathtub," she said, smiling. "But you need to be ready when your Uncle Leo comes to take you back home."

"O'b?" Ben promptly asked, the beautiful blue eyes he had inherited from his daddy sparkling with interest.

"I bet he will," Vanessa said, receiving the towel Darryl was handing her and smiling at the toddler. "But first you need to get all dry and properly dressed. Come here," she called again, reaching out for him again.

"O'b!" Ben said with great enthusiasm, raising his arms towards her.

While Vanessa wrapped him in the towel and snuggled him, showering the chubby face with kisses, Darryl reached out and pulled out the plug.

"Hi-hi!" Ben chirped, waving bye-bye as the water went down the drain, its temperature now quickly lowering and reaching the environmental temperature.

"Bye-bye, water, bye-bye!" Vanessa said, giggling as she, too, waved at the water.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Phew!" Paige sighed, letting herself fall on the couch. "That was a LOT of powdered saffron!"

"And you still have a lot of it in your hair," Phoebe pointed out, turning off the vacuum cleaner, "so get off my sofa."

"I need a shower," Anya said, grimacing at the sight of her own saffron covered arms. "Badly."

"As soon as Spike finishes," Phoebe said, taking the broom from her hands, "you can use the bathroom upstairs."

She saw Cole enter the room, coming from the kitchen, and added, turning to Paige:

"Honey, we can finish it in here: go take a shower at the manor. I need you to bring Ben back before the pizza arrives; once he sees the pizza, he'll refuse dinner."

"Sure thing," Paige said, giving the broom to Cole and going to the kitchen to cross the backyard towards the manor.

"Here," Phoebe said, giving him Anya's broom, too. "You do know where the brooms are kept, don't you?" she asked, raising a mocking eyebrow.

"Hey, I offered to help!" Cole protested. "You're the one who turned me down on my offer!"

After Leo orbed with Piper to their bedroom, Phoebe and Paige had distributed brooms, dusters and dustpans among the others to clean up the mess in the living room. Spike and Cole had proved themselves so clumsy, though, spreading the powdered saffron farther instead of collecting it, that Phoebe had finally sent Spike to the bathroom upstairs and Cole to the manor to take a shower while the rest of them cleaned up.

"Put the brooms in the closet, order the pizza, and be here when Paige comes back with Ben," Phoebe told him with a smile. "That'll help."

She saw Spike coming down the stairs, wearing one of Cole's sweaters, and said, pointing at him:

"And you can help them push the furniture back to place."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

About twenty minutes later, Leo orbed Piper to the solarium at the manor, to meet Cole, Buffy, Spike, Anya and Xander. Phoebe, Dawn and Willow were still in the shower, and Paige had just orbed to Darryl's house to pick up Ben.

"How long before the pizza arrives?" Piper asked. "I'm starving."

"Fifteen minutes," Cole said, glancing at his watch. "Are you okay?" he asked Leo, frowning as he noticed how pale the Whitelighter was.

Instead of answering, Leo grimaced and orbed out, and Cole turned to Piper with an interrogative look.

"Nauseous," she sighed.

"Really?" Cole said, standing up and helping her ease herself down on a whicker chair. "You mean like...?" he left the question hanging, knowing that Leo would be mortified if Buffy and her friends knew about his sharing Piper's pregnancy symptoms.

"Yep," Piper said, nodding.

"I thought it had stopped," Cole said, sitting on a chair by her side.

"So did I," Piper sighed. "I think it's the curse."

"How can a dead person be nauseous?" Xander asked, intrigued.

Paige's arrival spared Cole and Piper from having to answer Xander's question. The blue orbs still hadn't settled down completely, and they already could hear Ben's voice, singing with great enthusiasm:

"HI-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As soon as he saw Cole, he started to squirm in Paige's arms, clearly wanting down.

"Dada!" he called out gleefuly.

Paige placed him on the floor and he ran towards Cole, giggling and raising his arms to be scooped up.

"Hey, you!" Cole said, taking Ben in his arms and smiling as the toddler patted his chest, prattling excitedly.

"O'b!" he exclaimed happily, bouncing in daddy's arms, and Cole chuckled and shook his head. This would indeed be the mother of all sugar rushes.

"Hi hooooooooooo!!!" Ben sang after some more gibberish, throwing his arms up.

"I know," Cole said, smiling. "You orbed. Twice. With Uncle Leo and Auntie Paige."

"Hi hooooooooooo!!!"

"And you saw Snow White and the dwarves," Cole added, nodding. "That's great."

He stood up with Ben in his arms, while the toddler kept babbling non-stop.

"Uh-hu," Cole said, mindfully nodding his head. "I see. Excuse me for a second," he told the others, looking over his shoulder as he took Ben to the kitchen.

Father and son had just left the room when Phoebe arrived, followed by Willow.

"Let me guess," Phoebe said with a smile. "Ben's back." Piper nodded, and she added with a sigh: "I'd better go to Cole's rescue."

The others snickered as Phoebe quickly left to the kitchen, and then Piper turned to Buffy, saying:

"Now that we're done with Liusaidh, we can start working on your curse."

"I'll talk to the Elders first thing in the morning," Leo said, entering the room.

"And I'll see if the Book of Shadows says anything about this pendant," Piper added, holding his hand as he sat next to her.

"Do you have a computer that I could use to access the Internet?" Willow asked, sitting next to Xander and Anya. "I could try googling for it."

"Google?" Paige said, interested. "Hum! That's a new concept."

"A powerless witch's resource," Willow said, smirking.

"No, I think it's a great idea," Paige quickly said. "Really. There's much more knowledge around today than there was two hundred years ago; we should use all resources at hand."

"And of course you can connect from here," Piper said. "You can use either Phoebe's laptop or Cole's PC."

"Good," Willow said, smiling. "What time?"

"I think Phoebe and Paige will be at work all day, especially since they've already left early today," Piper said, "but I'll be home all day. You can come over any time you want."

While they talked, Dawn arrived, still buttoning up one of Phoebe's jackets. The whole Sunnydale gang was wearing borrowed clothes, after having been tossed around the room and over the powdered saffron by Liusaidh and D'Hoffryn.

"Is the pizza here?" she asked.

"Not yet," Piper said.

Dawn stood at the doorway, unsure; she looked around the room, suddenly feeling self-conscious and out of place. Paige and Willow were talking about magic and stuff, while Leo watched, occasionally piping in. Anya and Xander were cuddling in the love seat, talking in a low voice. And Buffy and Spike were standing by the open window, talking -- or arguing, it was hard to say. Buffy was frowning and Spike was rolling his eyes in obvious exasperation, but they seemed oblivious to the other people in the room, and Dawn somehow felt that they didn't need company. She felt -- not for the first time in the past few months -- strangely detached and utterly lonely, and didn't notice that Piper was watching her until this one called out gently:

"Dawn."

Dawn looked at her and Piper smiled, patting the chair next to her.

"So," she said when the teenager sat by her side with a grateful smile, "you're in high school, huh? It can be almost as hard as fighting evil."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Cole leaned back on his chair with a contented sigh and took a sip of his beer. He had been watching with a smile as Ben walked around the solarium, prattling and giggling and making a big mess with his pizza. When Ben saw the pizza he had been as excited as Phoebe had predicted, not because he liked pizza all that much, but because it belonged to the most fun food group: food to be eaten with your hands. He was now sitting on Buffy's knees, prattling happily and ocasionally chewing on the thin slice of white pizza that Phoebe had given to him. Much to Phoebe and Cole's satisfaction, tonight Ben had not one, but three very willing baby-sitters: Buffy, Dawn and Willow had been taking turns holding the toddler and playing with him, and finding it very cute when he tugged on their clothes with greasy little hands to get their attention.

Cole unwillingly took his eyes off his son and turned his attention to Spike: the vampire was sitting apart from the others, drinking his beer in silence. Despite his nonchalant look, though, his eyes had been following Buffy all evening, watching her every move even though she never looked at him.

Xander said something that made Piper and Buffy laugh, and Cole watched as Spike's jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked from Buffy to Xander and then back at Buffy. Cole suddenly wondered how it would feel to spend etternity alone, loving Phoebe, needing, aching for her, yet confined to the periphery of her life, following her from a distance and being there when she needed him but never allowed to be a part of her life. Cole frowned as it occurred to him that Spike had fought by their side and helped defeat Liusaidh just like everyone else; no one had thought of sending him away then.

Cole looked at Buffy, but she had her back turned to him, holding Ben's bottle and helping the toddler drink his apple juice. He shifted on his seat, a feeling of uneaseness creeping over him as he wondered what his life would have been without Phoebe's love and support. What would have he done if she hadn't believed him when he claimed that he was good and that he loved her? If she hadn't gone to the Underworld to save him from the spell Raynor had placed on him? If she had left him while he was possessed by the Source? Cole clenched his teeth, subconsciously tightening his hold around the beer bottle: he wanted to stand up and go join one of the groups that were spread around the room, snap away from that cold, sinking feeling, but his legs refused to obey him and he found himself frozen in place. He knew that what he was experiencing was just the first effects of the aftermath of his descent to hell, but he just couldn't help himself. He felt a lump in his throat: so many what if's, so many ways his life could have gone so terribly wrong!

Cole reached out to place the beer bottle on the table beside him, and was disturbed to realize that the hand holding it was shaking so badly that he wasn't sure he'd be able to perform the task without dropping the bottle. Then, as he struggled to get himself together and stop the shaking of his hands, Phoebe's warm hand closed gently upon his own and led it safely towards the table.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sitting on a chair next to him.

"Nothing, I just..." -- he looked at her and sighed. "I'm fine. I was just thinking of how lucky I am," he said with a faint smile.

"Right now, you don't look like a man who's feeling lucky," she said, giving him a suspicious look as she raised her hand to caress his pale face.

Cole didn't answer right away: he just closed his eyes and relished in the warmth and softness of her touch. When he leaned forward to kiss her, Phoebe raised her other hand and wrapped both arms around his neck, ignoring everyone else in the room as she focused solely on her husband and on the fact that he needed her.

"I suppose the nightmares are coming back," she whispered, giving him a concerned look as they pulled away.

"I'm afraid so," Cole sighed. "I'd better sleep in the guest room tonight."

"You're not going anywhere," Phoebe promptly said. "I'll talk to Paige and move Ben's crib to her bedroom so that he isn't scared."

"Phoebe, you have to wake up early tomorrow," Cole reasoned. "You need to sleep."

"Baby, do you really think I'd be able to sleep, knowing that you were all alone in the other room, struggling with those nightmares?" she asked.

Cole opened his mouth to reply, but he didn't really have an answer to that. Besides, the mere idea of spending this night alone was enough to make his stomach churn. He finally sighed and pulled her into his arms again, burying his face in her hair as she moved to sit on his knees and hugged him tight.

"I do feel less scared when you're there," he admited in a whisper.

"I'll always be there, baby," she assured him.

Cole kissed the top of her head, holding her tight. After a while, though, he pulled away slightly, tipping her chin so that she'd look him in the eyes.

"Am I being too needy?" he asked, only half joking. "It seems to me that lately you've been doing nothing but comfort and tend me."

"What?" -- Phoebe's raised her eyebrows, not sure whether to laugh or to take his question seriously. "Oh, baby!..."

"Cole," she said, taking the hand that was tipping her chin in hers, "you hold me when I have nightmares, and you bear with me when I have PMS, and you tend me and pamper me to no end when I'm sick. You stood by my side and held my hand while I was giving birth to our son, and I've lost count of how many times you saved my life."

She smiled at him, a smile full of love that sent a warm feeling through him, pushing away all memories from hell.

"You went to hell and back today, baby," she added softly, touching his face. "You're more than entitled to be as needy as you want."

Cole smiled as he looked into the brown eyes that he loved so much, and he knew that she meant every word. Some might see Phoebe as light-headed and even frivolous, with her baby voice and her love for B movies, shoe-shopping and chocolate sundaes with weird toppings, but those who were close to her knew better. The scatterbrained girl who used to drive her older sisters crazy with her rash, reckless ways had grown up to be a strong, reliable woman who was sensitive to the needs of her family and friends and took responsibility for their welfare. She had always been there for him when he needed her, and Cole knew in his heart that she'd always be.

"I am indeed lucky," he said with a smile. "More than I ever thought any person could be."

"We're gonna make it through this night, Cole," Phoebe said, glad to see that the shadow that had crossed his face a while ago was no longer there. "Together. Just like we have done before. Like we always will."

"I know," Cole said. He cupped her face in his hand and gently fondled her cheek. "I know. No matter how far away I go, your love will always bring me back."

He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose, making her giggle.

"You," he whispered, "are amazing. You're beautiful, and strong, and magical in ways that go far beyond being a Charmed One." He kissed her lightly on the lips and added, his face very close to hers: "You're everything every poet has ever writen about love."

"Keep talking like that," she purred, "and you may get **_really _**lucky tonight."

"Oh, really?" he said with a smile.

"Uh-hu." -- she said, nodding. "You know," she added with a mischiveous glint in her eyes, "there's something I had planned, to celebrate our first night alone at the new house..."

She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, and what she said I'll leave to the reader's imagination, because it made Cole's eyebrows shoot up to the ceiling.

"Now, that will definitely help keep the nightmares away," he said, a wide grin spreading accross his face.

Before Phoebe could reply, though, they heard Ben's voice calling:

"Mama!"

Phoebe and Cole smiled as they saw their little boy happily crossing the room towards them.

"Mama!" he called again, reaching out his arms as he approached them.

"Hey, little man," Phoebe chirped, gathering up the toddler and kissing him. "Are you having a good time tonight?"

Ben giggled and snuggled with her when she held him tight: mommy was by far the best snuggler in the household. Phoebe was still sitting on Cole's knees, and he kissed her temple and leaned down to give Ben a sound kiss before saying:

"Keep mommy company for a while, will you?"

"Mama," Ben said, touching Phoebe's face. He thought a little then added, grinning: "My."

"That's right, Benny Bunny, mommy is all yours," Phoebe cooed, smiling as she stood up.

She gave Cole an interrogative look as he, too, stood up, and he touched her face and said, cryptically:

"There's something I must do."

"Mama?" Ben called again, grabbing her face to get her undivided attention, and she turned to him, while Cole picked up his beer bottle and crossed the room towards where Spike was sitting, drinking his beer and pretending not to be watching Buffy.

"Spike," Cole said, stopping before him. "We need to talk." The vampire raised an inquisitive eyebrow and he proceeded, motioning his head towards the door: "Outside."

Spike perked up, giving him a suspicious look, and with the corner of his eye Cole saw that Buffy had tensed up slightly, even as she pretended not to be listening. Good, he thought. It wouldn't hurt her to worry a little. He showed his hands to Spike, palms up, saying:

"Come on, do you see any wood stakes here? I just wanna have a word with you."

Spike stood up, still watching him warily, and Cole headed to the door, motioning for him to follow. Once they crossed the door, Cole walked down the few steps that led to the garden and carefully placed his beer bottle on a stone bench before turning around to face Spike.

"How much do you love her?" he asked, straightforwardly.

Spike gave him a startled look that completely spoiled his cool act, the hand holding his own beer bottle frozen halfway to his lips.

"I don't... Hum! You... What are you talking about?" he said, frowning.

"I'm asking how much you love her, Spike." Cole patiently said. When Spike still didn't answer, he sighed roughly and insisted: "How much do you love Buffy?"

"What!"

"Come on, I saw the way you look at her."

Vampires were known to be skilled poker players. But, Cole thought as he saw Spike squirm, either the one before him was the exception that proved the rule, or his feelings for the Slayer were rooted even more deeply than Cole had first thought.

"I'm sorry to piss on your parade," Spike said with a half convincing sneer. "But vampires don't love: we lust, and that's all."

"And that's why you came all the way from Sunnydale? For lust?" Cole said, raising a mocking eyebrow. "Man, she must really be a great..."

"Shut up," Spike snapped, his eyes sparkling dangerously.

"What? Now you're jealous?" Cole taunted. "Come on, just because you're banging her, it doesn't mean other guys can't..."

When Spike charged against him, Cole was ready for him and switched his weight slightly from one foot to the other, intending to dodge him. But he wasn't at all prepared to see the vampire howl in pain and fall to the ground, his hands grabbing the sides of his head.

"What the...?" -- Cole quickly crouched on the ground next to the quivering vampire, wondering if he should call the others. "Spike?" he called, unsure, as Spike quieted down, his ragged breath gradually slowing down.

When Spike opened his eyes, they didn't focus right away, and for a moment they looked so dull and lifeless that Cole shuddered and almost withdrew the hand that he had placed on the vampire's arm.

"Can you sit up?" Cole asked, and as Spike nodded in silence, he helped the vampire get off the ground and sit on the porch steps. Then he picked up the beer bottle that Spike had dropped and, seeing that there was still some beer left, handed it to the vampire.

Spike accepted the bottle without a word and swallowed the rest of the beer at one gulp. He didn't look at Cole as this one sat by his side and asked:

"What the hell was that?"

"The chip," Spike said, curtly.

"What!"

"I could swear this bloody thing is getting stronger as time goes," Spike sighed, frowning and rolling the empty bottle between his hands.

"That's what the chip does?" Cole asked, incredulously. "**_That's_** how it prevents you from hurting humans?"

"Yep."

Both men remained silent for a while, until Cole muttered, frowning:

"This isn't behavior modification; it's a choke collar."

Spike gave him an intrigued look, but before he could reply, they heard the door behind them open and Phoebe call warily:

"Cole?"

"Yes, baby?" Cole said, turning towards her.

"Is everything alright?" she asked. "I thought I heard..."

"We're fine," he said. "It was just..." -- he sighed and shook his head -- "Never mind. Would you be an angel and bring me another beer?"

"Uh, yes," she said, still looking a little unsure, and he gave her a reassuring smile, repeating: "We're fine. Really."

When Phoebe went back inside, Cole turned around and faced the garden again. Neither he nor Spike said anything until Phoebe came back with the beer and handed it to Cole. She gave him a curious look, but he just gave her the look that meant "Later," so she nodded and left them alone again.

Cole handed the beer bottle to Spike, who took it without a word; then he sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"So," he said after a while, turning to Spike again, "now that we both agree that you love Buffy, I'll ask you again: how much do you love her?"

"Enough to be in trouble," Spike muttered bitterly.

"Enough to cross over?" Cole asked

Spike sighed heavily and Cole pursued, slightly impatient:

"Do you love her that much, Spike? Because if you don't, you're wasting your time here. Good and evil can't get along: one of you will have to turn. And Buffy won't. So, will you?"

"Ha!" Spike snorted, rolling his eyes. "A good vampire: that's sweet."

"It's not easy for demons, either, you know," Cole said, annoyed.

Spike turned to him, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

"What?" Cole said, shrugging. "You heard Phoebe and Buffy talking about that last night."

"So, all that talk about you already being good..."

"When Phoebe and I got together, yes," Cole explained. "When I first met her, no." He took a sip of his beer before adding, in a low voice: "I really meant to kill her."

"You thought you could beat the Power of Three," Spike scoffed.

"Hey!" Cole exclaimed, frowning. "I had quite a good plan."

"And it didn't work because...?" -- Spike gave him an ironic look and took a sip of his beer.

"It did work," Cole said, quietly. "For a short time, the Power of Three was broken."

Spike gave him an intrigued look and he proceeded:

"At the end, I found out that I just couldn't do that. I told Phoebe how to restore the Power of Three, thus ruining my perfect plan."

"Why?" Spike couldn't help but ask.

"She was crying," Cole said, shrugging.

"I see," Spike muttered, nodding.

Cole glanced at him, but the vampire seemed to be lost in his own memories. Both men remained silent for a while, staring, without seeing, at Piper's roses across the garden.

"What about you?" Cole asked after some time. "How did you...?"

"I went to her house to kill her," Spike started. "You see, this chip," he explained when Cole have him an intrigued look, "it's not like it controls my actions or something. It hurts like hell, but if I could endure the pain long enough to feed on someone, there'd be nothing the chip could do to stop me."

He took another sip of his beer and proceeded:

"So I got a gun: I'd have felt a lot of pain when I pulled the trigger, but by then it'd have been too late to stop the bullet."

"But...?" Cole said, giving him an interrogative look.

Spike shrugged, staring at the bottle in his hand.

"She was crying," he sighed.

"And you just..." Cole said.

"Couldn't."

"I see," Cole said, nodding.

They remained in silence for a while, until Spike turned to Cole again and blurted out:

"Then, what? You told her that you loved her, and that was it? Did she know that you were a demon? Was she okay with it?"

When Cole didn't answer, bemused by the string of questions, Spike asked, frustrated:

"How did you get through her?"

Cole placed his beer bottle on the ground next to his feet and sighed, pondering Spike's question.

"It wasn't easy," he finally said, "to win Phoebe's trust again. You see, I had lied to her: she didn't know I was a demon when we met. And when she found out the truth, she was..." -- he grimaced at the memory -- "more than a little bit irked."

"We had our ups and downs," he proceeded. "First, Phoebe was afraid that I'd turn her, instead of the other way around. Then, just as we started to work things out, evil wanted me back and..." -- he sighed, unwilling to talk about the Brotherhood and the time he and Phoebe had spent apart -- "Anyway, it was hard for her to believe that I was good, since I had already lied to her in the past. It took us almost one year to settle as a couple."

Spike mused over that for a while, then he said, quietly:

"I never lied to Buffy: she always knew I was evil."

"Well, that's a start," Cole said. "I guess. But now you need to start telling her that you're good. And mean it. Not just because of the chip," he added. "Regardless of it."

"I have been fighting for the side of good for about two years!" Spike exclaimed. "Isn't that enough?"

"Have you been fighting for the side of good?" Cole asked. "Or for the side of Buffy?"

"Does that make a difference?" Spike asked, impatiently.

"It makes all the difference!" Cole insisted. "This is not about **_doing _**good, Spike, it's about **_being _**good. Doing the right thing for the right reason."

"Why?" Spike asked, frustrated.

"Because Buffy can't be responsible for both her conscience and yours," Cole said. "Doing the right thing is hard enough without having to drag your partner along. Buffy needs someone who will cheer her up when she loses heart, not say 'sure, let's throw the towel in'."

Cole groaned inwardly as it ocurred to him that he must be sounding a lot like Leo, telling Spike the same things the Whitelighter had told him not so long ago, sitting on those same porch steps, witnessed by the same yellow roses. _Good thing those flowers can't speak_.

"You need to commit to good," he proceeded, "not to whatever side Buffy is on."

Spike exahled loudly and straightened up, turning angrily to Cole.

"You just don't get it, do you?" he snapped. Cole gave him a confused look and he stood up, opening his arms.

"This," he said, "is as good as I get."

He vamped and Cole jumped to his feet, quickly taking a step away from him, chip or no chip.

"This is what I am," Spike snarled. "I'm not good: it's not in me to be."

He turned back to his human form, suddenly losing all his drive, his shoulders slumping.

"Evil is a choice that I made a long time ago," he said, quietly. "And whether it was a good choice or not, there's no turning back from it."

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Cole exclaimed, exasperated. "Do you want me to go upstairs and bring the Book of Shadows? Show you pictures of Belthazor?"

Spike glared at him, but Cole said, in a low voice:

"There is. Always. A way out."

"Yeah, right," Spike snorted, bitterly. "It's easy for you to say that," he said, giving Cole a rancorous look. "You're half human; you have a soul. Me, I'm an undead: my soul is long gone, and so is my humanity."

Cole thought of his mother and of her own struggle to be good, and of the price she had paid for it. He looked at the man standing before him, fighting the urge to beat some sense into that thick head.

"If a soul is what it'll take for you to be good," he snapped, "then I suggest you get yourself one."

With that, he turned around and went back inside, leaving behind a very baffled vampire.


	13. Curses, nightmares and the evil soap bub...

Phoebe shuddered as she closed the bathroom door behind her, wishing she had put something on over her pajamas before she left the bedroom. She silently made her way back to her and Cole's room, stopping only to listen at the door to Paige's room, where Ben was sleeping. Hearing nothing, she smiled and proceeded towards her own bedroom; what she heard when she approached the door, though, made the smile quickly vanish from her lips.

Even through the closed door she could hear Cole's whimpers, and Phoebe promptly opened the door and hurried inside. Cole had kicked away the covers, and was blindly groping her side of the bed, reaching out for her as he called out in his sleep:

"Phoebe... Please..."

Phoebe turned on the light before she ran towards him, knowing from previous experience that when Cole woke up he wouldn't know where he was right away. Climbing on the bed, she grabbed the hand that was reaching out for her, calling his name:

"Cole, it's okay. Wake up, baby, wake up, you're having a nightmare."

As soon as her fingers closed around his hand, Cole gasped and opened his eyes.

"Phoebe!" he called out hoarsely, propping himself on his elbow, and Phoebe promptly pulled him towards her. He pressed his face against her breasts, not the gesture of a lover, but of a frightened child seeking comfort.

"It's okay, baby," she whispered softly, lowering her face to kiss his head. "It's okay, it was just a bad dream, you're safe now."

"No one," he muttered in a strangled voice. "No one... All gone..."

"Shh, baby, it's over now," Phoebe said, in a low, soothing voice, as she rubbed his back, "it was just a nightmare."

She changed position slightly on the bed and gently made him raise the head that was buried on her chest to look around the room.

"We're home, baby," she said, stroking his hair. "It was just a nightmare, you're not alone."

"Oh, dad," Phoebe thought in dismay, closing her eyes and pressing her face against his head, "what have you done?"

She knew that those nightmares left both Cole and Leo worn out, and she could only hope that this time there wouldn't be as many of them as there had been the first time. They were two of the strongest men she knew, and Phoebe didn't even dare to try and imagine what could frighten them that much.

She kept rocking him gently, murmuring words of love and waiting for him to calm down as the nightmare slowly faded. When she felt him relax in her embrace, she kissed his forehead, asking softly against his skin:

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," he said quietly.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No," Cole said. "I just..." -- he paused, grimacing -- "I'd rather not. Not now."

"Okay," she said, fondling his hair.

"Can we go look at Ben?" Cole asked after a while, giving her a somewhat sheepish look.

"Sure," she said softly, smiling at him.

He sat up on the bed and slid his feet into his slippers, and together they went to Paige's bedroom. When they got there, Phoebe silently opened the door and they both tiptoed their way towards the crib; without a word, they watched their baby boy sleep, and Cole put his arm around her shoulders, smiling at the sight of Ben holding his own ear, his hand closed around it, just like his mommy sometimes did in her sleep. They stood like that for a while, until Phoebe tugged lightly on Cole's hand, and he somewhat reluctantly followed her back to the hallway.

"Tomorrow you'll have the whole day to play with him," she whispered, smiling as she gingerly closed the door behind them. "Now, let's go back to bed."

Once they were back in their bedroom, Phoebe made a point on tucking Cole in before she joined him under the covers; she laid on her side, with her back to him as he spooned her and rested his chin on her shoulder.

She was tired and in need of sleep but, knowing that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep right away, she tried to think of something to talk about, something that would take his mind off the nightmare and at the same time help keep her awake.

"So," she said, fondling the arm that encircled her, "will you tell me what you and Spike talked about this evening?"

"Well, you know," he said, nuzzling the side of her neck. "Stuff."

"Guys' stuff?" she asked with a little smile, and Cole chuckled slightly before answering.

"Sort of," he said.

He shifted his weight on the bed, finding a more comfortable position, and added:

"He's fallen head over heels for Buffy."

"What?!?" Phoebe said, swirling around to face him and accidentally hitting his nose with hers.

"Ouch!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

They snickered, and then Cole smiled and leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose, and Phoebe kissed his, and they kissed and nibbled and giggled for a while, but eventually they settled back on their original position because, between fighting Liusaidh and playing their own private games earlier that night, they were both indeed spent.

"So..." Phoebe said once Cole spooned her again. "Spike, huh?"

"Uh-hum. Where do you think Buffy stands?"

"Dunno," she said, with a sleepy voice. "Overall, I'd say she doesn't like him, but sometimes..." -- she yawned -- "I think she sends mixed signals."

"That's what I think, too," Cole said, closing his eyes and pressing his cheek against hers. "She was mad at him for having followed her to San Francisco, yet she didn't let you throw him out..."

"Uh-hum..."

"And the way she scolds him and tries to make sure he'll behave properly... Like she actually cares about the impression he'll make on us."

"Uh-hum..."

"But I'm afraid she'll need to do better than that if he is to cross over."

"He will?"

"He might," Cole said with a yawn. "If he just stops being so damn stubborn... He claims that he can't be good because he doesn't have a soul..."

Cole mumbled a few more unintelligible words before slipping into dreamland. He never noticed that Phoebe had already fallen asleep by then and didn't hear his last sentence; if she had, things might have turned out differently. But Fate had plans for the Slayer and the vampire who had fallen in love with her, and so Phoebe would only learn what Cole had said more than a year later, and by then it would be too late to change the course of events.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When Phoebe and Cole walked into the kitchen the morning after, they were greeted by the smell of fresh brewed coffee and the waffles that Piper was making. Leo was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper, but Paige hadn't come down yet.

"Good morning," Phoebe said, walking past Leo and opening the refrigerator to take out the milk.

"Morning." -- Cole's greeting was cut off by a loud yawn. "Sorry."

"Rough night?" Leo asked, lowering the newspaper he had been reading, and they noticed the black circles under his eyes.

"You bet," Cole sighed, sitting by his side. "You too?"

"Yep."

Phoebe took her attention off the milk she was warming to exchange an understanding look with Piper. Sure, helping their husbands through those nightmares was nothing compared to actually having the nightmares, but it was no picnic, either.

"Are you coming back to the manor after your staff meeting?" Cole asked, and Phoebe quickly turned away from the table and back to Ben's bottle, in an attempt to hide her smile. Even after all those years, she still found the idea of Whitelighters having staff meetings quite amusing.

"I hope so," Leo said, good-naturedly pretending not to see Phoebe's smile. "Why?"

"Ben and I have a busy agenda for this morning," Cole said. "You can join us when you come back."

Leo gave him an interrogative look and he proceeded with a straight face:

"I'm thinking cartoons at eight, chase the evil soap bubbles in the backyard at eight thirty, finger painting at ten, and after that nagging Piper to let us have macaroni and cheese for lunch."

"I'll be back in time for the soap bubbles," Leo said, grinning, and Piper smiled as she sat across the table from him and placed the plate with the pancakes on the table between them. Playing with Ben and eating comfort food was the way Leo and Cole usually dealt with the aftermath of those nightmares.

"I'll buy you some chocolate ice cream, too," she said, reaching out and fondling her husband's hand.

"With choco chips," he added.

"With choco chips," she said, nodding.

"Cole, make sure Ben eats all his vegetables before you give him ice cream," Phoebe said, sitting next to Cole and reaching out for the coffee pot.

"This kid," -- they turned towards Paige's voice as she entered the kitchen with Ben in her arms -- "won't have any more sugar until he's eighteen."

"Hi!" Ben greeted them happily.

"Hi, sweetie," Phoebe said as she stood up and took him from Paige's arms. "Did you give Auntie Paige much trouble last night?" she asked with mock seriousness.

"No," Ben promptly said. His sense of past only encompassed the last fifteen minutes, and he had behaved very well during that time.

"Oh, no, I'm sure you didn't!" Phoebe cooed, kissing him. "Thank you," she earnestly said, smiling at Paige.

While Paige smiled back at Phoebe and sat by Piper's side, Cole promptly reached out for Ben, and the toddler gurgled happily when Phoebe placed him in his daddy's arms.

"Hey you," Cole said, carefully pushing his cup away from Ben's curious hands.

"Hi!" Ben said, making himself comfortable in daddy's arms and giving a curious look around. _Hey, where's my bottle?_

"Xander called a while ago," Piper said, while Phoebe sat next to Cole again and handed the bottle to him.

"Is Anya okay?" Cole asked, frowning.

"Hum, yes," Piper said, "but he strongly emphasized the importance of not mentioning bunnies or anything related to them when she comes over today. Apparently, she had a very rough night, too."

Even though Cole had expected that, he winced at Piper's words, and Phoebe said, reaching out and stroking his arm:

"Do you think maybe Anya would like to come help vanquish the evil soap bubbles?"

"Actually, I think Anya already has plans," Piper said before Cole could reply. He gave her an inquisitive look and she explained: "Buffy, Willow and Dawn are taking her shopping: they promised to help her buy lots of shiny trinkets for her house and that seems to have lifted her spirits."

"I'm sure it did," he said smiling.

Ben impatiently reached out for the bottle, that Cole was absently holding out of his reach, and he gave the toddler an apologizing smile:

"Sorry, buddy. Here it is."

The bottle had handles that allowed Ben to hold it all by himself -- an accomplishment of which the toddler was very proud --, so Cole just put one arm around him to keep him still as he turned to Piper again:

"So, what time will they be here?"

"Willow said she'll be here at around three, but I don't know if the others will come with her or just give her a ride and then go back to the mall. I think Buffy and Dawn also want to do some shopping of their own."

"Well, I'll be back from work at the usual time," Paige said, finishing her coffee in one gulp and grabbing a croissant as she stood up. "If you need me before that, just give me a call."

She started to leave, then stopped at the doorway and turned around, saying:

"But please, try not to need me: I'm running out of excuses to leave early."

She blew Ben a kiss and quickly exited through the door, while Leo stood up, too, saying:

"I'd better be going, too. Don't forget my ice cream," he added, smiling as he leaned down to kiss Piper.

"I won't," she said, stroking his cheek.

After Leo orbed out, Phoebe asked, spreading butter on her toast:

"Do we have any idea of what we're looking for?"

"You mean, with Buffy's pendant?" Piper said. "Well, I don't, that's for sure. I'll be searching the Book of Shadows for 'bad luck', 'curses', maybe 'jewelry'... But it's too vague. Cole, do you know anything that can help us narrow our search?" she asked, turning to him.

"Sorry," he said. "Amulets and charms, that was never my style. Have you taken a closer look at the pendant yet? To be honest, I don't even know what it looks like."

"I think it looks like a small heart," Phoebe said, unsure.

"Or two hearts entwined," Piper said.

"Maybe." Phoebe glanced at her watch and stood up, saying: "When Leo comes back we'll know for sure."

"Have fun with the evil bubble balls," she told Cole, leaning down to kiss him lightly on the lips.

With one last smack kiss to Ben and a wave to Piper, Phoebe grabbed her purse and quickly left to work.

"Mama?" Ben asked Cole when Phoebe was gone.

"Mommy went to work," Cole told him, taking the empty bottle from the toddler's hands and placing it on the table, "You know, with Elise and the others."

Ben crunched his nose, expressing his discontentment. He didn't like the Elise. He didn't know what an Elise was, but he knew that when mommy mentioned the Elise, she usually frowned and made little upset sounds. Ben chewed his lower lip, pondering the idea of sending his new friend the hot hot hot water after the evil Elise.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Willow arrived at 3 p.m. sharp, and Anya came with her, saying that Buffy and Dawn wanted to have a "beauty afternoon" and claiming that she was already beautiful enough. Anya loved pretty clothes and jewelry, but remaining still while people cut her hair and did her nails made her restless.

Ben was taking his afternoon nap, and since Anya wasn't thrilled at the perspective of doing research with Piper, Leo and Willow, Cole walked her to the living room while the others went to the solarium.

"I'm sorry to hear about your nightmare," Cole said, placing the girls' shopping bags on the floor and the baby monitor on the coffee table before sitting down on the couch.

"So is Xander," Anya said as she sat down on the other side of the couch, tucking her legs under herself and stealing all the pillows, like she always did. She sighed and added: "It seems that I kicked him lots of times last night, in places that should never be kicked."

Cole grimaced in sympathy for Xander. Phoebe usually didn't kick in her sleep, but she had, once: one hell of a wake-up call.

"There will probably be more of them," he said. "But I suppose you already know that."

"Uh-hum," she said, nodding. You didn't dwell in evil for more than one thousand years without learning a thing or two about nightmares.

"So," she said, abruptly changing the subject, "you're a witch. How does it feel?"

"Weird," Cole said. "Very weird." He though a little, then added: "Uber weird."

"Are you powerful?" she asked. "What can you do? I mean, besides throwing hot water on people you don't like and threatening the lives of innocent fish."

"Well," he said, snickering, "so far, I can't do much. I have power over the four elements, but it doesn't always work as it's supposed to."

"Can you cast a spell? Or make potions?"

"Yes, and yes. But also, no, and no." -- Cole smiled, not even noticing that he was much more comfortable talking to Anya about his magic than he was with anyone else -- "I usually blow things up all over the kitchen, or cast spells that turn Paige's hair blue. And I definitely can't rhyme," he added with a sigh.

"Willow usually casts her spells in Latin," Anya offered. "I really don't know why, since her Latin sucks, but you might try that: you used to be pretty good with Latin."

"Yeah," Cole said. "Maybe."

He stole one of "her" pillows and made himself more comfortable on his side of the couch.

"Anya, does it feel weird," he asked out of the blue, "to be human?"

Anya arched her eyebrows, surprised by the question.

"It's, hum, different," she said. She bit her lower lip, pondering his question. "Not having powers can be frustrating sometimes. The perspective of getting old, white hair and wrinkles and all, is a little scary. But overall, I'd say it's okay. Why?"

"I don't know," Cole said, shrugging. "It's just... I understand how you feel about the powers and the aging: I think about these things, too. But..." -- he sighed and gave her a slightly perplexed look -- "I don't know. Sometimes I feel that there's something wrong. Something missing. I thought I'd feel better now that I have powers again; I mean, I do feel better for not being powerless any more, but still..."

"These are not the powers you were used to?" she offered, tentatively.

"No," he said. "I mean, yes, but that's not the problem. It's like..." -- he sighed heavily and let himself fall back on the couch -- "Being human is right. It feels right. But sometimes it also feels wrong."

Cole closed his eyes and grunted in frustration. The feeling was right there, he just couldn't put it in words.

"I was human once," Anya said, reaching out and placing her hand on his arm, "and then D'Hoffryn made me a demon, and now I'm human again. But you were always both: human and demon. Maybe that's what's bugging you: you're not used to being just one."

She hesitated, then added, with a gentleness that would probably have surprised the other Scoobies:

"Or maybe because your mother is a demon, you feel that you have to be a demon, too."

Cole's eyes flipped open and he looked at her, uncertain. She just returned his stare, though, and he finally allowed himself to relax just a little more as it dawned on him that he had missed Anya almost as much as he had missed his mother, the two women who knew the best of him and the worst of him, in a way that even Phoebe would never know. 

"I miss her too," Anya said simply, as if reading his thoughts, and he placed his hand over the small hand that rested on his arm.

They remained in silence for a while, until he said, quietly:

"I saw her. In the attic, as the curse on the pendant was revealed: it came to me in a flash, the first time I saw her kill."

"You saw?" Anya said, perking up. "You mean, like... the way a seer would?"

"Actually, Phoebe is the seer in this family," Cole said with a smirk. "I just..." He stopped, noticing her unsettlement. "What?"

"You saw the past," she said, frowning.

"Why?" he asked. "What did you see, Anya?" he added, straightening up and giving her a concerned look as he understood that she, too, had experienced something that night.

"I'm not sure," she said, quietly. "I didn't actually see anything. I just..." -- she gave him an uncertain look -- "I was looking at Buffy, and all of a sudden I was thinking that in a few weeks I'll be walking down the aisle... I looked at that red light and I thought of a long red carpet, and red roses, and..."

Anya's voice trailed off and she lowered her eyes to the hand that was still resting on Cole's arm.

"I felt all cold and numb inside," she added quietly. "And then Buffy stepped out of the circle and it was over."

"Leo mentioned something about the war this morning," Cole said, frowning. "Lots of blood and all: that's what he saw in the attic. You know, maybe you should talk to Phoebe about that. Like I said, she's the resident seer: she'll probably be able to tell whether your, hum, vision or whatever, if it meant something."

"Maybe it means that we'll receive lots of ugly presents, all wrapped in red paper," Anya said, "or that the wine at the reception will be sour. Or that we shouldn't invite Willow to the wedding."

Without a word, Cole reached out and gently pulled her towards him. As he rested his chin on the top of her head and patiently listened to her gibberish, he knew that this time Anya wasn't just being her usual rambling self. Whatever it was that she had experienced in the attic that night had affected her deeply, and he promised himself to have her talk to Phoebe before she went back to Sunnydale.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Well," Piper said, closing the Book of Shadows with a satisfied sigh, "that was some pretty impressive research we did here."

"I second that," Leo said. "You know," he added, running his eyes through the several sheets of paper in his hands, "I never thought we could find so much useful information on the Internet."

"And by 'we'," Piper said with a smirk, "he means 'you', Willow."

"And by 'we', I mean 'you', Willow," Leo said with a good-natured smile. He was a hopeless computer illiterate -- or, as Paige had screamed after he had erased all her e-mails, along with every entry in her address book, "an orbing disaster". He had also accidentally made a bid of nineteen hundred dollars on eBay (which, fortunately, had been topped by another user) and password protected a twenty page document on Cole's PC, and now he wasn't allowed to stay in the same room with a computer without adult supervision.

"You're really good," he added, and Willow beamed.

"Well, you know," she said, shrugging. "Not all baddies are vampires: some of them require more than the regular kick-dodge-stake-dust routine. And I don't have a Book of Shadows," she added, giving the book resting on Piper's knees a longing look. "I have to look for information wherever I can find it."

"You should start your own Book of Shadows," Leo said. "Every witch should have one."

"Really?" Willow said, interested.

"Sure," he said, smiling. "And, speaking of things every witch should have, I talked to the Elders about assigning you a Whitelighter."

"Well," Piper said, placing the Book of Shadows in Willow's willing hands and standing up, "since we're done with the research, there are some phone calls I must make, in order to set things up for the band that's performing at P3 tonight. So, if you'll excuse me..."

As she was leaving the room, Piper stopped at the doorway and turned around to look at Leo and Willow, sitting with their heads bent over the open Book of Shadows. She smiled at the way Willow drank in Leo's words, asking questions almost faster than the Whitelighter could answer. "So young", she thought. "Much younger than Phoebe was when our powers were unbound."

Piper sighed and shook her head as she left the room: of course the girl needed a Whitelighter! Anyone with half a brain could see that. As she went to the kitchen to use the cordless phone without disturbing Cole and Anya, Piper had her mind full of things she'd say to the members of the Council of Watchers if one of them ever had the bad luck to cross paths with her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Traffic," Cole said.

"Definitely," Anya said, nodding as she wrote it down, "Traffic sucks."

"Dentists."

"I never went to the dentist," Anya said, raising her eyes from the notepad and giving him an interrogative look.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know," Cole stated.

Anya shrugged and turned her attention back to the list they were making.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, excited, waving her hand in the air. "I know one, I know one!"

Cole gave her an interrogative smile and she said, deliberately:

"The flu."

"Ouch!" Cole said, grimacing. "You're right: nothing can beat the flu!"

"Okay, I wasn't going to intrude," -- Cole and Anya looked up from the notepad to see Piper standing at the doorway, her expression a mix of curiosity and amusement -- "but I just have to know: what do traffic, dentists and the flu have in common?"

"Top ten worst things about being human," Anya said. Piper gave her a puzzled look and she added, showing the notepad in her hands: "We're making a list."

"Uh..." Piper gave Cole an inquisitive look, not so sure whether to laugh or not. "Cole?..."

"We were bored," he said, shrugging.

"Figures," she said, giggling as she sat in the armchair before them.

"Don't demons ever get caught in traffic?" she asked, reaching out for the jar that was resting on the coffee table and taking a cookie out of it. She raised her eyebrows slightly as she saw how few cookies there were left, but decided to let that one pass.

"You can't cause a traffic jam by shimmering," Cole reasoned, all too willing to take her attention off the cookies, because the jar had indeed been full when he had brought it from the kitchen.

"Or teletransporting," Anya said. Oblivious to the silent interplay between Piper and Cole, she took another cookie out of the jar. "It's the power I miss the most," she sighed.

"So, what else do you have there?" Piper asked, pointing at the notepad.

"Aging," Anya held the notepad and read out loud. "IRS, telemarketers, food allergies and people who want to pay for a two dollar purchase with a fifty dollar bill. And the fact that you can't whack them in the head without it being considered bad customer service."

"Not to mention the legal implications of whacking someone in the head," Piper said, managing to keep a straight face. "I'm pretty sure you'd be breaking a law or two."

"Yeah, that, too." -- Anya sighed heavily at the arbitrariness of the human laws that didn't allow you to punish stupid customers who didn't understand the rules.

"Couldn't you find any positive aspects of being human?" Piper asked with a smile.

"Better sex," Anya said, grinning.

"Anything you reply," Piper quickly said, pointing at Cole, "will be way more information than I need."

"I don't intend to reply at all," Cole said, holding up his hands defensively.

"And pancakes," Anya proceeded, unabashed.

"Can't demons have pancakes?" Piper asked, puzzled.

"The regular kind, they can," Anya said. "But not the kind that your boyfriend makes to you when it's freezing cold and you don't want to get out from under the comforter, and so he brings the pancakes to you in bed."

"Or when you've got the flu and they let you stay in bed all day, and your wife buys you truffles on her way back from work and your sister in law makes your favorite food for lunch," Cole said, smiling. "I see what you mean: no one pampers a demon."

"No, they don't," Anya said. "Humans aren't good at many things," she said, turning to Piper, "but they sure as hell know how to pamper."

"Uh, thanks," Piper said, raising her eyebrows. "I guess."

"A demon never shows weakness," Cole proceeded, "no matter how crappy they feel."

He hesitated then added, with a sigh:

"It's rather tiring."

"I bet it is," Piper said gently.

"Also," Cole said with a sly smile, "humans tend to be more forgiving when, say, someone eats all the peanut butter cookies."

"You ate all the peanut butter cookies???" Leo exclaimed as he and Willow entered the room.

"Well, not **_all_** of them. There's still a few left," Cole said, peering into the jar.

Leo shook his head and let out an aggravated sigh as he handed the Book of Shadows to Piper and took a cookie out of the jar. Piper's peanut butter cookies were often the subject of heated disputes between him and Cole.

"Honey," he told Piper, "I'll go talk to the Elders again, to tell them what we've found out and see if they have something to add. But don't worry, I'll be back in time to take Ben to the doctor."

"I can..." Cole started to say.

"No!" Piper and Leo promptly said in one voice.

"Is Ben sick?" Willow asked as Leo orbed out and Cole sat sulkily and picked another cookie.

"No," Piper said with a smile, "he just needs to get his shots."

"I could take him," Cole said, frowning.

"Cole, we've already discussed it," she patiently said.

"No, we didn't," he said, stubbornly. "You and Phoebe discussed it and forbid me to..." he stopped when he saw the glint of amusement in her eyes.

"Okay, so I got a little heated..." he said.

"You threatened to sue the doctor," Piper said, cutting him off.

"Ben was crying!" he protested.

"Every baby cries when they get a shot," Piper said, torn between amusement and exasperation. "That's expectable. What is **_not_** expectable is that the father cries along with them."

"I didn't cry!", Cole exclaimed, outraged.

"You were this close," Piper said with a smile, holding up her index finger really close to her thumb.

"I didn't cry," Cole said, turning to Anya.

"Anya did," Willow chimed in.

"Well, it hurt!" Anya said, indignantly.

"So," Cole said, giving her a sympathetic smile, "Xander made you take the shots, too, huh?"

"Yeah," she said, grimacing. "Did Phoebe make you take them?"

"For my own good," he sighed, nodding.

"Because we have no antibodies," she said.

"And our immune system isn't prepared to handle modern human viruses," he recited in a monotonous voice, and they both sighed and rolled their eyes.

Just then, they heard Ben's cheerful voice coming from the baby monitor, and Cole promptly jumped to his feet. Lately Ben had developed the inconvenient habit of throwing things out of his crib: anything he could get his hands on -- pillow, toys, and, of course, the much hated socks -- would end up on the floor if he found himself awake and unsupervised in his crib. Phoebe and Cole tried to discourage that habit, but Ben was usually alone in the bedroom when he woke up: by the time they reached him, the damage was already done, and the toddler was too young to understand "no no no" to something that he had done twenty minutes ago.

"I'll be right back," Cole told the three girls as he quickly left the room, hoping to get there in time to stop Ben.

"Well," Piper said to Willow and Anya as she stood up, "I received some magical supplies this morning and I didn't have time to sort them yet, so if you want to talk more I'll have to ask you to follow me to the kitchen."

"Sure," Willow said as she, too, stood up. "What have you got?"

"Babassu nuts," Piper said, "tucum fiber, pequi seeds, guarana leaves..."

"You've got guarana leaves?" Anya asked, perking up. "I've been trying to get some for the Magic Box for ages!"

"The Magic Box?..." -- Piper gave her a confused look, then remembered what Anya had told them two nights ago. "Right! Your store!"

"Yes," Anya said, nodding. "Can I buy some of your leaves?"

"You can have them for free," Piper said, smiling. "I have more guarana leaves then I could use in my entire life."

"How did you get them?" Anya asked as she and Willow followed Piper to the kitchen.

"Cole defended this _curupira _who..." Willow and Anya looked confused and Piper explained: "Kind of a nature spirit, with fire hair and feet pointing backwards. This one came all the way from the Amazon Forest, in Brazil, because he knew a guy who knew a guy who knew that Cole is a damn good lawyer. And he needed a lawyer because he was being sued by another _curupira_, can you believe that? Long story short, Cole won the case, and the guy paid him with all these native plants that are almost impossible to obtain through the ordinary ways, and very useful for magical potions."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Keep the change," Leo said as he paid the cab driver. The guy had put up with Ben singing "Hi Ho Hi Ho" all the way from the pediatrician's office, the least he could do was give him a generous tip.

Leo wasn't really fond of taking a cab when he could perfectly well orb Ben to the doctor's office and back home, but it was a common agreement among the family that Ben and Melinda wouldn't take the personal gain rule seriously unless the grown ups set the example. Besides, Piper had also asked him to stop at the market, and there was no point in orbing outdoors and risking exposure.

He made sure Ben was safely nestled in the snugli before turning his attention to the two grocery bags and getting out of the car.

"Hi! Ho! Hi! Ho!" Ben commanded, bouncing in the snugli and slapping Leo's shoulders vigorously as the Whitelighter walked towards the manor.

Leo couldn't help but smile at the toddler's enthusiasm: Ben disliked the shots just like the next kid, but one lollipop and a taxi ride later he was back to his usual cheerful self. At least when daddy wasn't there for him to pick up on his stress.

"Dis!" Ben said, reaching out and trying to grab the neck of a wine bottle that was sticking out of one of the bags.

"This," Leo said, smiling as he gingerly shifted the two bags to his left arm and used his free hand to open the front door, "is what happens when you let your wife convince you to do some minor task out of the house. Soon you'll find yourself with this huge list of things to do."

"My?"

"Most definitely no," Leo said, laughing.

He closed the door behind them and walked into the manor, announcing out loud:

"We're back!"

"HI HOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ben hollered, figuring that since Uncle Leo was using "outdoor voice", joining in would be appropriate.

"Ouch!" Leo said, grimacing as Ben's battle cry resounded in his left ear.

"I think you want down," he said, dropping the grocery bags on the sofa and proceeding to take off the snugli. Ben's pediatrician was a wise young woman who had a VCR and a TV set in her office to entertain her little patients, but now he wished she hadn't chosen Snow White this afternoon.

"There you are," he said as he placed Ben on the sofa and reached out to rid him of the snugli.

Before he could touch the toddler, though, a strong hand grabbed Leo from behind and sent him flying across the room, while Ben watched, very surprised. Leo managed to roll with the fall and jump back to his feet to face the dark scaled humanoid that was standing between him and Ben.

"No no no," Ben said, frowning at the creature and, to Leo's horror, it turned around at the sound of the toddler's voice and snarled at him.

"No," Ben said firmly again, struggling with the snugli that restrained his movements.

Before Leo could do anything, a second creature, a little shorter than the first one, jumped out of nowhere and threw him to the floor again. At the same time, the bigger one raised his arm, ready to strike Ben.


	14. Good guys, bad guys, baaaaaad guys

Note #1: Well, I did my best to update quickly, and I'm sorry if I left you guys hanging, but you didn't really think I'd let anyone hurt Ben, did you? As for Shel, Queen of Cliffhangers, consider it a taste of your own medicine. ;-)

Note #2: In case some of you aren't familiar with this expression, a vampire's "game face" is what they look like when they vamp out. Not a pretty sight.

* * *

"NO!!!" Leo cried out, horrified, watching helplessly as the creature brought its arm down in an ample arc, its deadly claws missing Ben by a split second and tearing the fabric of the couch where the toddler had been sitting. It all happened so fast that only when he saw Spike grab the straps of the snugli and pull Ben out of the creature's reach just in time did Leo notice that the vampire was in the room.

While Leo quickly scrambled back to his feet, Spike dodged another attack and swiftly slid his arms through the straps of the snugli, at the same time vamping and snarling back at the creature. Ben was facing him and the toddler's eyes grew big as he saw the vampire's transformation. _Big teeth! Yellow eyes! Funny face!_ Ben squealed in delight when the creature jumped over the couch after them and Spike promptly jumped backwards, putting them both out of reach of the large paw that reached out towards them.

Buffy, Cole and Anya came running from the other room just as yet three other creatures appeared between Leo and Spike. One of them hissed and jumped towards Buffy, but the Slayer dodged it easily and threw it over her shoulder and against the wall in a quick counter-attack. The other two tried to corner Cole, ignoring Anya, so Leo shouted in her general direction:

"Salt!"

Anya gave him a puzzled look and he repeated, ducking just in time to avoid the talons that tore the air above him:

"Salt! Lots of it!"

He grabbed the rug under his attacker's feet with both hands and stood up, pulling forcefully on it; the creature lost its balance and stumbled backwards, falling on the coffee table, while Anya turned on her heels and ran out of the room, still ignored by the five invaders.

"Don't you ever die?!?" Buffy exclaimed in frustration to the one she was fighting. She managed to send it to the floor, its neck bent in an impossible angle, for the second time, just to see it jump back to its feet, growling at her.

She glanced quickly at Cole, who wasn't having any more luck than she was, but then her opponent launched itself against her again and she was forced to turn her attention back to it.

Cole managed to hit one of his opponents in the jaw with a right haymaker, sending it sprawling onto the floor, but he was forced to jump backwards when the other's claws missed his chest by a mere inch. He cursed as the first one jumped back to its feet and joined its peer again, forcing him to retreat even further, thus increasing the distance between him and Ben.

Truth be told, Ben was having the time of his life; he squealed in sheer joy as Spike jumped up in the air to kick the creature in the chest, his little hands clasped around the collar of the vampire's jacket.

"Yay!" Ben exclaimed as Spike landed back on the floor, making him bounce in the snugli.

"Here's the salt!" Anya shouted as she, Piper and Willow came from the kitchen, each holding a bag of salt and none knowing what to do with it.

When Cole heard that, he called to Leo across the room:

"Caarths?" he asked.

Leo nodded his head, breathless, and Cole waved his hand in a circle, summoning a whirlwind that lifted the salt from the bags that Anya, Piper and Willow were carrying and sprinkled it all over the room. The minute the salt touched the five creatures, they started to melt with a hissing sound, quickly vanishing into five pools of black goo.

While the others sneezed and huffed, vainly trying to take the salt off their teary eyes with hands that were also covered with salt, Cole jumped over a large pool of Caarth goo and ran towards Spike and Ben. He stopped short before the vampire, who was still wearing his game face, the deadly fangs hovering right above Ben's head.

"You can morph back now, Spike," Buffy said sharply as she noticed Cole's tension.

"Oh, really, pet?" -- a pair of cold yellow eyes stared at her as Spike turned to her with a small sneer.

"Just hand the baby to Cole," she said, her own eyes sparkling with anger as she saw him toy with the others' apprehension.

"Well, maybe I..." -- Spike was interrupted by a little hand that groped his face as Ben stretched himself as far as possible in an attempt to touch the funny bumpy things on the vampire's face.

He looked down at Ben, surprised, and the toddler giggled and once again touched his face.

"Will you excuse me?" Spike snapped, annoyed. "I'm trying to look bad here!"

"Bah?"

"That's right. Bad."

Ben furrowed his brow in confusion. He knew what "bad" meant. It was wrong. Wronger than "no no no", yet not as wrong as "mean". Mean was **_very _**wrong: when people were mean, Auntie Piper made them go "boom!". But Spike wasn't being mean, and he wasn't being bad, either. Bad was throwing daddy's cell phone out through the car's window, or pouring the bowl of cereal over your own head. Spike had only jumped and jumped and jumped with him, and that had been fun, and not bad: daddy did that all the time and no one said it was bad.

Then, just as Spike turned his attention back to Buffy and opened his mouth to speak again, Ben's face lit up with sudden comprehension.

"Baa!" he exclaimed happily. _Oh, now I know what you mean!_

"Yes, I..."

"Baaaaaaaa!"

"I... What?!?" -- Spike's eyes grew wide with shock and he morphed back to his human form.

"Baaaaaaaa!" Ben bleated happily, and the toddler grinned proudly when the room exploded with laughter.

"No!" Spike exclaimed, indignantly. "Not baa! Bad!"

"Baaaaaaaa!"

"Bad! I'm not a bloody lamb! I'm a vampire! Bad!"

"Baaaaaaaa!"

"I don't... Oh, bugger this!" Spike grunted, frustrated, as he handed Ben to Cole. Before he did, though, Ben reached out and stroked his face in one of those priceless child's spontaneous gestures of affection. Spike blinked, disconcerted, and for a second his expression softened as he looked down at Ben's bright smile. He quickly regained his wits, though, and hastily put the toddler in Cole's arms; Spike glanced quickly at Buffy as he walked away from father and son, afraid that she might have witnessed his brief moment of weakness, but the Slayer was looking the other way, too busy hiding the fact that her heart had throbbed in all kind of odd ways when she saw Ben laughing in his arms.

"Baa! Baa! Baa!" Ben said, bouncing in Cole's arms. _Awe, daddy, let's forgive him: he's not really mean, and he's so funny!_

"Yeah, baa to you, too," Cole said with a smile as he hugged him tight, experiencing a feeling of utter relief now that his son was safe in his arms again.

Ben giggled and nuzzled Cole's cheek.

"Dada," he said, because he was in a good mood, and he knew that daddy always liked to hear that word.

"Da-da-da-da-da-da-dah!" he lilted then, just for the fun of it. He liked to play with the sound of words.

He looked at Spike over Cole's shoulder and waved cheerfully at him:

"Baa!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Spike huffed, rolling his eyes.

Spike clenched his teeth as he gingerly shifted his weight from one foot to the other in an attempt to ease the pain on his left knee: it had been hurt during the fight with Liusaidh and, even though vampires were fast healers, jumping around with Ben as ballast hadn't helped the least.

"So, that's what a Caarth looks like," Anya said, placing her hands on her hips. She glanced at the five black pools of goo and corrected herself: "Looked like."

"I didn't know they melted with salt," she proceeded, turning to Cole. "Are they related to slug demons?"

"Yes, they..." Cole started to say, but then he heard the front door be open and promptly shouted in the door's general direction:

"Nobody's hurt!"

Indeed, when Phoebe came through the foyer and saw the pools of demon goo on the floor, she gasped and promptly ran towards Cole.

"What happened? Is everyone okay? Was Ben scared?" she asked as she took Ben from his arms and kissed him.

"Mama!" Ben exclaimed happily. "Baa!" he added, grinning.

"That's..." Phoebe started to say with a smile, but she stopped when she noticed the others' amusement. "What's so funny?" she asked, intrigued.

"Spike is baaaaaaaaaaad!" Willow explained, in a pretty good lamb impersonation that made Ben laugh heartily.

"Baaaaaaaaa!" he said, joining her.

Phoebe raised her eyebrows, giving Piper an inquisitive look.

"We can tell you while we clean up this mess," Piper said, "and after Cole and Leo tell us about the Caarths."

"Carths?" Phoebe repeated, turning to Cole.

"Caarths," he corrected her while Piper and Leo went to the kitchen to get the cleaning utensils.

"Spike," Piper called, stopping at the doorway and turning around to look at the vampire, "do regular human drugs have any effect on your body?"

"No," Spike said, tilting his head to the side and giving her a curious look.

"You look like you could use a painkiller," she said, eyeing his knee.

"Uh, ice would be good," Spike said, warily.

"Does herbal medicine work?" she asked and he frowned, looking definitely suspicious now.

"One good turn deserves another," Piper said. "And that little lamb over there," she added, motioning her hand towards Ben, "means a lot to us."

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

When Xander arrived with Dawn, thirty minutes later, he was more than a little surprised to find Spike sitting comfortably on a chair, his left leg stretched before him, resting on a pillow that had been placed on a puffy chair. The vampire was wearing borrowed sweat pants whose left leg had been rolled up to the knee, and had a poultice on his exposed knee.

"What's this smell?" Dawn asked, sniffing the air as she approached Spike.

"Nard roots and datura," Willow said, looking at the sheet of paper on which she had written Piper's recipe.

Before Xander could decide whether he wanted to make a remark about that, his attention was drawn to Ben, who was hopping around the room, playing with some stuffed animals and bellowing "baa! baa!" as the animals were tossed around.

"He's playing 'Witches and Caarths'," Anya told him, in her patented way of providing explanations that explained nothing.

"Actually," Spike piped in, trying to suppress the contentment in his voice and not doing a very good job, "he's playing 'Vampire and Caarth'."

"What are caars?" Xander asked Willow, choosing to ignore Spike.

"Caarths," she corrected him, giving him her best accent as she checked her notes again. "Big baddies that are drawn to magical beings and feed on them. They live in another realm and can only cross to this one when there's a very unusual combination of factors."

"In other words," Paige said, picking the chain from which the pendant hung and pulling it over Leo's head, "it takes a lot of bad luck for one being in this realm to be targeted by them."

"Paige, you don't..." Leo started to say, but she cut him off.

"It's been twenty-four hours," she said as she hung the chain around her neck. "Your shift is over."

Leo smiled as she gently patted his shoulder, but when he turned to Cole his smile faded out.

"I'm sorry," Leo said, giving his brother in law a pained look. "I should've known better."

"Well, when you put it this way," Cole said, "so should I."

Leo opened his mouth to reply, but Cole held up his hand, silencing him:

"I mean it, Leo. Until today, the curse hadn't put anyone's life at risk What's more, it had only worked on ATMs, dogs, upset stomachs, nothing supernatural. It wasn't just you: none of us realized that it was getting stronger."

"I should've known better," Leo insisted, shaking his head.

"Leo, I'm his father!" Cole said. "If anyone should have foreseen that, it would have been me. I didn't, and neither did Phoebe, and neither did anyone else. Why should we blame you?"

Just then, Ben darted past him, holding a blue stuffed pig above his head and hollering "baa" at the top of his lungs. Cole dashed forward and grabbed the toddler, pulling him close and blowing a raspberry on the side of his neck.

"Go tell Uncle Leo," Cole said, smiling as Ben squealed and laughed and he hugged him tight, "tell him that we're not angry at him."

He made Ben look in Leo's direction, and the toddler giggled and waved at him:

"Hi!"

As Cole placed him and Piggy the Pig in the arms of a very grateful Leo, Ben reached out and grabbed Uncle Leo's nose, saying:

"Baa!"

Leo laughed heartily, and Ben wiggled his way out of his embrace and back to the floor, where he proceeded with his game, once again oblivious the grown ups.

"Where's Buffy?" Dawn asked.

"In the kitchen with Phoebe," Piper said as she entered the solarium.

She stopped as she walked past Spike and handed him a glass jar filled with the same mixture he was wearing on his injured knee.

"That should do it until your knee heals," she simply said.

As Piper went sit by Leo's side, Spike looked from her to the jar in his hands with a pensive expression. His knee was indeed feeling better: earlier that evening he had feared he wouldn't be able to ride his motorcycle back to Sunnydale for the next three or four days, which might become a major inconvenience if Buffy decided to travel back home before that. He gingerly placed the jar on the table next to him, beside his empty cup: the chamomile tea had been warm and sweet, and it had helped him relax his sore muscles after the fight.

Spike sighed and leaned back on his chair, oblivious to the talk around him, until the mention of Buffy's name made him turn his attention to Willow.

"I thought you'd arrive with Buffy," Willow was saying to Dawn.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to take a shower and try on some of my new stuff," Dawn said, stretching her leg in front of her so that Willow could see her brand new sneaker, "but Buffy was all hasty and impatient, so I told her to just drop me at the hotel and I would come later with Xander."

As Piper made a remark about Dawn's new sneakers and the subject was changed, Spike lost interest in the conversation again. He had been watching the manor since sundown, waiting for Buffy to show up, and then he had followed her inside, purposefully ignoring her huffing and puffing and bickering about his help not being needed anymore. He could have told Dawn that the reason her sister was in such a hurry was because she had hoped to talk to Phoebe before the other Scoobies arrived. Buffy had looked pretty disappointed when Piper had told her that Phoebe hadn't come home from work yet, and right now Spike would love to be a fly on the kitchen's wall to know what the two girls were talking about.

In the meantime, Ben had finally taken a break and sat down on the floor with his toys.

"Baa," he mildly told a stuffed hippo, patting his head. "Boo-ba-boo-ba-boo," he muttered to no one in particular.

He yawned and looked at his shoes, pondering the idea of taking them off. Nah. Too much work. Then Ben yawned again, curled on the floor next to Piggy the Pig and closed his eyes, unceremoniously falling asleep.

"So, when you throw salt on a Caarth..." Cole was explaining to Willow. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed when he saw Ben close his eyes.

Willow watched, puzzled, as he stood up and ran towards the toddler:

"Oh, no, Ben, don't you do that to daddy," he said while pulling a very displeased Ben back to a sitting position. "Mommy is gonna kill me if I let you fall asleep now," he added, scooping Ben up.

As Ben whined and gave him a sulky look, Cole headed to the kitchen, calling out:

"Phoebe! Sleepy baby alert!"

"What's so terrible about him sleeping?" Dawn asked after they were gone.

"He hasn't eaten yet," Piper explained. "They'd have to wake him up later to feed him, and he'd be cranky."

"And after that he wouldn't wanna go back to sleep, and then he'd be even crankier," Anya added, all too knowingly. "Believe me, you don't wanna be around a Turner's temper tantrum."

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

"What?" Phoebe asked as she raised her eyes from the ground meat she was cooking.

She and Buffy looked at Cole, who had entered the kitchen with Ben in his arms, and Phoebe grimaced when she saw Ben yawn and try to bury his face on Cole's shoulder.

"You'd better hurry up with his dinner, baby," Cole said as he tried to place Ben on the high chair.

"No!" Ben said mutinously, grabbing the front of Cole's shirt.

"Oh, come on, son, you're such a good boy," Cole pleaded with him. "Just eat some of mommy's yummy food and then you can go back to sleep."

"Back?" Phoebe asked, arching her eyebrows.

"I just took my eyes off him for one second," Cole said, with an apologizing shrug.

Ben tightened his grip on his shirt and repeated, stubbornly:

"No!" _No yummy food. Nighty nite. No food._

Cole sighed as he looked at his son's pout: no one messed with the sleep schedule of Benjamin Coleridge Turner II and lived to tell the story.

"How come he never falls asleep that fast when we're trying to get him into bed?" Phoebe sighed, shaking her head as she hastily poured the mashed vegetables on Ben's plate, while keeping her eyes on the pot with the ground meat that was still on the stove.

"It's the Halliwell bad gene," Cole said smugly, as he sat Ben on his knees and gave him a spoon to play with. "Hey, look, buddy, a nice, shiny spoon!"

"What!" Phoebe glared at him, only half joking, while Ben promptly started to bang the spoon on the table.

"I think I'll just wait in the solarium," Buffy said, biting back a smile as she stood up. Phoebe looked at her, but Buffy dismissed her with a wave of her hand: "It can wait: no big deal."

"Buffy, come over tomorrow," Phoebe said, "I'll be home all day. And I'd love to talk."

"That's okay," Buffy said, nodding.

"Honey, I mean it," Phoebe insisted.

"I'll come," Buffy said with a smile before she left the kitchen.

"The Halliwell bad gene?" Phoebe said, turning back to Cole and placing her hands on her hips.

"That's what Grams says," he said with a sly grin.

"Well, don't make me call a certain former vengeance demon to the witness seat, counselor," she said. "And make sure your son remains awake while I finish this," she added, turning off the stove and starting to put the ground meat on Ben's plate.

Noticing that Ben had lost interest in the spoon and was snuggling against him again, Cole quickly turned him around so that the toddler was facing him.

"Come on, you can't go to bed yet," he said as he bounced Ben up and down on his knee. "Your tummy is empty, let's get some food in it first," he added.

"No!" Ben stated, even as he giggled.

"Please," Cole said, smiling.

"No no no no!"

Ben adamantly shook his head and suddenly decided he didn't want to play anymore. _No pony ride. Nighty nite._

"No!" he said again as he launched himself forward and buried his face on Cole's shirt.

Phoebe sighed as she sat by Cole's side and placed the plate and a clean spoon on the table before her.

"Awe, mommy's baby wants to go nighty nite, does he?" she asked as she took him from Cole's arms.

"Mama," Ben mumbled as he snuggled in her arms.

"Uh-hum," she said, as she fed him a spoonful of ground meat. "Ben's going to bed, yes, he is. In a minute."

She watched with a smile as Ben hesitated, rolled the food on his tongue, tasting it, then chewed and swallowed it with evident satisfaction.

"Let's make him eat at least some of it, and then I'll take him upstairs and nurse him before I put him in bed," she told Cole.

"So," Cole said, as she gave Ben another spoonful, "have you and Buffy talked about...?" -- he dragged out the word, giving her an interrogative look.

"I think she wanted to," Phoebe said, gingerly wiping Ben's chin with the bib, "but between the Caarths and my motherly chores, I'm afraid she didn't have a chance."

She tried to feed Ben another spoonful, but the toddler closed his mouth shut, so Cole took the spoon from her hands and started the "airplane goes into the hangar" routine.

While he drew loops in the air with the spoon, making swooshing sounds until Ben finally deigned to open his mouth, Phoebe proceeded:

"She asked me about us: how we met, when you crossed, how the rest of the family coped."

"Did you tell her," Cole said, "how loving and supportive you were while I was crossing? How you had faith in me when no one else did?"

"Baby," Phoebe said, softly, "she's just twenty one. I was older, and more experienced, and didn't carry the burden of my calling alone. And even then," she added gently, "it wasn't easy."

"Crossing isn't a picnic, either," he said quietly.

"I know..." she started to say, but Cole cut her off.

"No, you don't, Phoebe," he said, reaching out and touching her face. "And I love you for that, for giving me just what I needed then, even when you didn't know, couldn't know what I was going through."

"But, baby," he proceeded, "when you make the decision to switch sides, it's more than just adjusting to a different set of rules. When you look at evil and see it through the eyes of good, it's yourself you're seeing, it's your own deeds. And as you loath the monster you're fighting, you never forget that you were a monster yourself, for more than a century."

He sighed and added:

"The demons we've vanquished during the past three years, there's nothing they have done that I haven't done myself."

"You're a different man now, Cole," she said, reaching out and placing her hand over his.

"Yes," he said, nodding, "but it still shames me and hurts me to think of all the things I did. I think it always will, and that's the price I have to pay."

Phoebe opened her mouth, but he placed his fingers on her lips, adding:

"Still, it's a small price to pay for the happiness I now have."

Then Cole's eyes fell on Ben, who was sound asleep in her arms, and he said with a smile:

"Uh oh."

Phoebe couldn't help but smile, too, as she looked down at the toddler. At some point during his parents' interplay he had managed to get rid of one of his shoes, but had fallen asleep before he could finish with the other. He was curled in her arms, sucking his thumb in his sleep, his left foot bared and his right one still wearing a small red shoe.

"I'll talk to her," Phoebe whispered, carefully snuggling Ben in her arms while she stood up.

"I'd do everything again, baby," Cole said in the same tome, cupping her face and caressing it gently. "No price would be too high to pay for one minute of the life I have now; but I didn't know that then."

"I'll talk to her," she told him again.

Cole leaned down and kissed her lightly, and Phoebe whispered "I love you" against his lips, and then she quickly left the kitchen before Ben woke up.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

"This," Willow said, as the pendant was passed from hand to hand, "is a Celtic Love Knot."

They were all gathered in the solarium, ready to learn what Piper, Leo and Willow had found about the pendant and the curse on it while they waited for dinner to be ready.

Phoebe leaned forward and watched the pendant in Cole's hand.

"It's a triquetra!" she said, surprised.

"Inside a heart," Piper said.

"No beginning, no end," Willow explained, tracing a triquetra in the air with her index finger, finishing with the heart that encased it. "Eternal love."

"That's beautiful," Paige said. "At least, it would be if it wasn't for the curse," she added as Cole handed her the pendant.

"Have you found out who the pendant belonged to?" Buffy asked.

"Well," Willow said, "if you watch it closer, you'll notice that there are some carvings on it; they're almost entirely worn off, and could only be read with the help of high tech equipments and state of the art restoration techniques... Or with a spell cast by a very powerful witch," she added with a smile, motioning her hand towards Piper.

"And what do they read?" Buffy asked, squinting her eyes as she looked at the faint marks carved on the pendant.

"There's a year," Piper said. "1832."

"Two names," Willow added, "which we assume are of the woman who owned the pendant and of the man who gave it to her: Henrietta and Lucas."

"And the sigils of two covens," Piper finished.

"Covens?" Phoebe repeated, raising her eyebrows. "They were witches?"

"Yes," Piper said. "And although Henrietta's coven was destroyed in the 1930s, Leo was able to make contact with a witch from Lucas' coven in Hampshire."

"Hampshire?" Spike asked, perking up. "Like in, Hampshire, England?"

"Oh, great," Xander muttered under his breath. "Another British living dead..."

"So, what's their story?" Paige asked, turning to Leo.

"Well, as you've already guessed, they were witches and they were in love," Leo said. "And yes, they were English," he added to Spike.

"But their love wasn't looked upon kindly by either his coven or hers," he proceeded, addressing everyone again. "From what the Elders told me, Henrietta's coven had a, uh... a bad name."

"Were they evil?" Buffy asked.

"Well, no," Leo said, cautiously. "But they were said to be dangerously close to the brink. Prone to making dubious alliances and resorting to dark magic in order to achieve their goals. In fact, an alarming number of witches of that coven had indeed switched sides in the past."

"So, what did they do?" Phoebe asked. "Henrietta and Lucas, did they stay together?"

"For some time they did," Leo said. "I'm not sure what happened exactly, but something bad happened while Lucas was out of town, and every evidence pointed towards Henrietta. I don't know if he blamed her -- like everyone else did -- or if he just needed some time to think things through but, whatever it was, she didn't take it well."

"Was she guilty or not?" Paige asked.

"It turns out she wasn't," Leo said, shrugging. "But she never got to tell him that. Cholera was raging throughout Europe, and Lucas died before she could reach him."

"No happy ending," Anya sighed, shuddering as she passed her arm through Xander's and leaned towards him.

The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Cole. He gave her a concerned look, but didn't say anything: they'd have time to deal with that tomorrow, after the curse was over. Cole furrowed his brown as he put his arm around Phoebe's shoulders: whatever it was that had struck Anya in the attic, it was related to her upcoming wedding, and if he found out that Xander had anything to do with it, the man would be as good as dead. In a slow, painful way.

Dawn's voice brought him back to the present as the girl asked Leo:

"Was it all because of the curse?"

"No," Leo said. "The curse came afterwards."

"It was Henrietta, wasn't it?" Anya said quietly.

"Yes," Willow said, nodding. "Lucas' death seems to have pushed her over the edge."

"Did she turn evil?" Xander asked.

"Well, no," Willow said. "She was more like... she went into chaotic, raving mode. No alignment: just this blind rage that made her act recklessly and eventually got her killed."

"That's sad," Phoebe sighed. Cole's arm was still around her shoulders, and she rested her head on his shoulder as he pulled her closer.

"It's..." -- Paige shrieked in pain when she leaned on the arm of the love seat and a splinter got stuck in her elbow.

"Stupid curse," she muttered angrily.

"Speaking of which...?" Xander gave Piper and Willow an interrogative look while Leo stood up and went heal Paige.

"Well," Willow said, "we believe that Henrietta's essence is still trapped within the pendant: instead of moving on after her death, she recoiled even further into the object that had once been a token of their love."

"And with the right spell and the Power of Three," Piper said, "I think we can tap into the pendant's magic and summon her."

"And then...?" Buffy asked.

"If we give Henrietta the benefit of the doubt," Piper proceeded, "we must assume that she was a good witch. And since the curse is rooted on her grief and her anger, if we can get through to her and convince her to move on, that should be the end of the curse."

"Okay," Paige said, warily, "but we're gonna keep a vanquishing potion at hand, just in case... right?"

"Definitely," Piper said. None of them had forgotten about Rick and Nathan, the ghosts from Leo's past who had come after him for vengeance and had nearly succeeded in killing her. "Just in case."

"Honey, you don't mind waiting until tomorrow, do you?" Phoebe asked, turning to Paige. The pendant had gone full circle around the room, and she received it from Cole and handed it to her sister. " I wanna take Ben to dad's place before we summon Henrietta. Just in case."

"Sure," Paige said, reaching out to receive the pendant from Phoebe's hands. "If Leo and Spike could suffer the curse for twenty four hours each, I can..."

Before Paige could touch the pendant, though, Phoebe's fingers suddenly clasped around the pendant in a spasmodic movement.

"Phoebe?" she called alarmed, while Phoebe gasped for air.

"Phoebe!" Cole called and, when she didn't answer, he hauled the pendant from her hand and threw pendant and chain away from her and across the room.

When Phoebe relaxed and fell back into his embrace, he protectively wrapped his arms around her, leaning down to kiss her temple.

"Say what you want, I hate what these damned premonitions do to you," he muttered, frowning.

"Not a premonition," Phoebe said, shivering as she snuggled in his arms. "At least..." -- she shook her head -- "I'm not sure. It felt more like an electric shock."

"Didn't you see anything?" Piper asked, concerned.

"No," Phoebe said. She hesitated, frowning slightly, then said, slowly: "_One word is too often profaned for me to profane it_."

"What?" Cole said, giving her a puzzled look.

"If it was a premonition," Phoebe said, "it was more like a 'verbal' one. That's all I have: a sentence."

"And, mind you, a rather cryptic one," Paige said.

"What about the voice?" Leo asked. "Male or female?"

"Neither," Phoebe said. "No voice. The words just... popped up in my mind."

"One word is too often profaned," Buffy said, pensively.

"For me to profane it," Phoebe finished.

"Which word?" Xander asked.

"I have no idea," she said, shrugging.

"Love, maybe?" Paige offered. "I mean, if it's related to Henrietta..."

That reminded her of the pendant, and she stood up and went pick it up from the place where it had landed, under Piper's chair.

"Or trust?" Willow said. "Maybe she's hurt because Lucas didn't stand up for her when she was accused."

"It could be a lot of things," Phoebe said with a sigh.

She raised her hand and touched her temple, grimacing.

"I think I have a headache," she said. "Ugh! It's been more than a year since I last had a headache because of a premonition!..."

"I'll get you some Tylenol," Paige said, reaching out and stroking her arm.

As she stood up and left the room, Piper said, standing up with Leo's help:

"And I'll get you dinner. Premonitions don't go well with an empty stomach."

Phoebe gave her a weak smile, because the headache was really starting to kick in, and Piper asked, concerned:

"Honey, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Phoebe said. "But I think you're right: I'll probably feel better once I eat something."

"Off to the dining room with you, then," Piper said with a smile. She looked at her watch and added: "I'll go check on dinner."

"Do you want me to..." Phoebe started to say, but Cole cut her off.

"Dining room, you," he told her. "I'll help Piper."

"You," Piper said, pointing at him, "stay away from my china."

Cole opened his mouth to protest, but she dismissed him with a wave of her hand:

"Walk your wife to the dining room and leave my dishes alone."

Phoebe giggled despite her headache when Cole took her in his arms and carried her to the dining room, while Leo and Willow followed Piper to the kitchen to help her with the dishes.


	15. Of prophecies and lovers

Note #1: I'm back! :-) I'm soooo sorry for the awful delay, and I hope people are still interested in this story. I'm working extra hard to get chapter 16 done soon, I promise.

Note #2: Numfarismyidol, I'm flattered that a B/A shipper is enjoying my Spuffy-friendly fic. I'm very fond of Angel, but I started watching BtVS after David Boreanaz left the show, so the B/A pairing didn't have the chance to grow on me. If I actually manage to go back to my previous one chapter a month pace, I intend to have Angel show up at San Francisco, too, but be warned that I'm an Angel/Cordy shipper.

* * *

"One word is too often profaned for me to profane it."

Phoebe muttered the words to herself as she walked down the stairs, as if saying them out loud might shed light on their meaning. She sighed, thinking of how she had laid awake in bed the night before, long after Cole had fallen asleep, listening to the reassuring sound of his steady breathing and musing over that one sentence.

She knew that the others were concerned about it as well, but she also knew that they couldn't fully understand how frustrating and unsettling it was for her not to be able to make some meaning out of one of her premonitions. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, frowning. Telling the truth was her gift, it was her contribution to the Power of Three; through her, the Powers That Be shared their wisdom with her coven, and right now she felt like an inadequate vehicle that tarnished the message it was supposed to deliver.

Phoebe sighed and shook her head. The answer would come to her in due time; until then, all she could do was relax and wait. She headed to the living room, where she found Cole and Leo watching TV, a large bag of Cheetos sitting on the couch between them.

"Is that Buffy and Ben I'm hearing?" she asked Cole, motioning in the solarium's general direction.

"Uh-hum." -- he nodded and made an affirmative sound, with his mouth full of Cheetos.

The summoning of Henrietta would take place later that afternoon, but Buffy had come earlier, like she had promised. Cole had opened the door for her because Phoebe was in the shower when she arrived, and now Phoebe looked from the western movie on the TV to the bag of Cheetos and finally back at her husband, giving him an interrogative look.

"I was a good host," Cole said after swallowing what he was eating. "I even told her that I wasn't really interested in the movie," -- he motioned his hand towards the TV -- "which, mind you, was a lie, but then Ben wanted to play with that book that Paige gave him for Christmas, and when Buffy said that she'd be glad to play with him and 'The Happy Farm From Hell'..."

Phoebe arched her eyebrows and he held up his hands defensively:

"After the tenth time in a row, it does feel like 'The Happy Farm From Hell' and you know that."

She couldn't help but smile and he proceeded, grinning:

"Anyway, Buffy said that she'd love to read the story to him and I seized the opportunity."

"Well," Phoebe said, placing her hands on her hips and giving him a stern look that was pretty much spoiled by the amusement in her eyes, "Buffy's here because she wants to talk to me, so I'm afraid you're in for some time with "The Happy Farm..." She hesitated and added with a smirk: "...From Hell."

"Or," Cole said, slyly, "you could see if Willow wants to play with Ben."

"Willow is here, too?"

"I think Paige called her."

"I'll see if Paige and Willow are busy," Phoebe said as she left the room, "so keep your fingers crossed."

------------------------------

Phoebe stopped at the doorway and peered into the solarium, unnoticed by Buffy and Ben: they were both sitting on the floor, with Buffy singing "If You're Happy and You Know It" and Ben merrily babbling along. Phoebe smiled, so caught up in the scene that she didn't notice Willow standing by her side until the younger witch said softly:

"I haven't seen Buffy this happy in months."

As Phoebe took her eyes off Buffy and Ben and turned to her, Willow explained, lowering her voice:

"Buffy went through some really rough times about one year ago. There was this hell goddess named Glory, who was trying to open a portal from our dimension to her own world, and Buffy could only stop her by sacrificing herself."

"Hell was breaking loose across the state and we didn't even know???" Phoebe said, barely managing to keep her voice as low as Willow's.

She pressed her lips tightly together, feeling her indignation rise: couldn't the powers in charge at least put their front line forces in contact with each other so that they could help each other with their monthly apocalypses? She took a deep breath, willing her anger to wane as she turned her attention back to Willow's story.

"Sorry," she said with an apologizing smile. "So, you were saying, uh, Buffy, hell dimension, portal...?"

"Right," Willow said, nodding. "Buffy sacrificed herself to close the portal, and she died, and we all thought that she was trapped in some creepy, nightmarish hell dimension, and we just couldn't keep the Hellmouth in check without her, and I missed her so much because she and Xander are my best friends ever, and..."

She finally had to stop to breath and asked sheepishly:

"I'm babbling, ain't I?"

"I'm afraid you are," Phoebe said with a smile. "But go ahead, I'm still following you."

Willow smiled back at her and took a deep breath, but instead of engaging in another string of babble like Phoebe had thought she would, she hesitated, looking down at her nails, and finally said in a whisper:

"She was dead, and I brought her back."

Phoebe's eyes widened as she contemplated the stunning amount of power it would take to bring someone back from the dead and she realized that Willow was much more powerful than she and her sisters had first thought. She opened her mouth, but closed it again and let Willow proceed, staring at the younger witch as this one toyed nervously with her own fingers.

"And it turns out she was in Heaven, not Hell. I brought her back from Heaven and right into the Hellmouth on war footing." -- Willow sighed self-derisively -- "Made big with the screwing up."

Phoebe hesitated, not sure of what to say, and Willow proceeded, looking at Buffy again:

"Buffy ran into a rough patch; for some time we feared that she might never come around."

She smiled as she finished:

"It never occurred to us that what she needed was some baby-therapy."

Phoebe smiled too as she looked at Buffy, who was laughing heartily as she played airplane with Ben. She noticed Phoebe and Willow standing at the doorway and said to Ben:

"Hey, look who's there! It's Willow: let's say 'hi' to her!"

"Hi, Buffy," Phoebe said with a smile as Buffy effortlessly shifted Ben's thirty pounds of sheer glee to her hip and walked towards her and Willow.

Ben promptly reached out for Willow's hair and Buffy placed him in her friend's willing arms.

"Hi," she said, turning to Phoebe. "I hope this is not a bad time."

"It's not," Phoebe said. Then, turning to Willow: "Willow, if you don't feel like playing with..."

Phoebe didn't finish the sentence as she realized that Willow was already sitting on the floor with Ben; she had taken off her jacket and was using it to play "where's the baby" with him.

"On second thought, I think they're gonna be just fine," she said, giggling, as she and Buffy walked away from the door.

------------------------------

"Leo, is there anything wrong?"

Leo turned to Cole with a start, only then realizing that he had been staring at without seeing the movie credits rolling up on the TV screen.

"What? No," he said. "No, I'm fine."

Cole gave him with a suspicious look, watching as he picked up the remote and turned off the TV.

"Did you have more nightmares last night?" he finally asked. "I didn't; I thought I would, but I didn't."

"Now that you've mentioned it," Leo said, turning to him again, "neither did I. Some bad dreams, maybe, but nothing that I can remember. And definitely nothing that made me wake up screaming."

He thought a little then added with a sigh:

"I'd hate to think that we're getting used to Hell."

"Well, I'm not getting used to anything, that's for sure," Cole said, not the least amused.

He leaned back on the couch and reached out for the TV guide, starting to flip through the magazine without much interest while Leo turned on the TV again and absently zapped through the channels.

The two men sat silent for some time, until Cole asked again:

"What's wrong, then?"

"Nothing's wrong," Leo insisted. "I'm just..."

He stared at the remote, fumbling with it for a while before putting it down and looking at Cole again.

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you should have been assigned another Whitelighter?" he blurted out. "A more..." -- Leo stopped when he saw Cole straighten up and give him an alarmed look.

"Is this because of the incident with the chinchilla?" Cole asked. "Because that'll never..."

"This isn't about the chinchilla," Leo said, smiling in spite of himself. "Although I'm yet to be convinced that it was completely accidental that you summoned a small rodent inside Paige's purse."

"Well, I was upset because she kept teasing me and I couldn't concentrate on the spell," Cole said, shrugging, "and I **_may_** have thought that it would serve her right if the spell went wrong and it backfired on her."

"Anyway," he quickly proceeded before Leo could reply, "if it's not the chinchilla, then what is it?"

Leo hesitated, then sighed and turned off the TV again.

"This wasn't the first time," he said, "that we've dealt with a demon about which you know much more than I do."

"Yes," Cole said. "So, what? I'm much older than you are."

"And you've come from a different time, and a different world," Leo said, nodding. "You know things, have seen things that I have never even heard of."

"Yes," Cole said, giving him a puzzled look, "and we've both been aware of that for the last three years, why has it become an issue now?"

"Because now I'm your Whitelighter," Leo explained. "I'm supposed to provide guidance and advice, yet many times I end up just following your lead, because you seem to know what you're doing while I'm still groping my way around."

"I just don't think that I'm adding value to you, that's all," he finished with a sigh.

Cole frowned slightly, watching with a thoughtful expression as Leo sank into the couch; neither man said anything for a while, until Cole finally broke the silence.

"You're a moron, Leo," he said conversationally.

"What!"

"You are a moron," Cole repeated.

He spotted one of Ben's toys lying on the floor beside the couch and reached out to pick it up.

"But you're right about one thing: I'm not like any of your other charges," he said, rolling the rubber ball between his fingers. "And since you've been smart enough to figure that out, one would think you would also be able to realize that I don't need you, or any Whitelighter for the matter, to teach me what it means to be magical."

"I'm not a good person who needs to learn how to be magical, Leo," he added. "I'm a magical person who needs to learn how to be good."

Without a warning, he threw the ball towards Leo, who nearly didn't react in time to catch it.

"And this," Cole said, grinning as Leo scowled at him and shoved the ball into the pocket of his jacket, where it wouldn't present a risk to Piper's lamps, "is where you come in."

"I know a lot about magic," he said, sobering, "it's being good that I need help. Personal gain, and the point where the protection of the innocents becomes vengeance, and repentance becomes self flagellation."

He thought a little, then added:

"And baseball."

"I'm pretty sure baseball isn't about being good," Leo said with a small smile.

"It's about being human," Cole said. "Which I'm not very good at, either," he added with a shrug.

"You're good," Leo said quietly. "You're stubborn and willful and prone to not asking for help until it's nearly too late, but you're a good witch. And a good man." -- he smiled -- "And I'm glad that you feel that you don't need another Whitelighter."

"That's not what you said last week," Cole remarked with a smirk.

"Last week," Leo calmly reminded him, "you tried to use your powers to get off of dish duty, and I ended up fixing the entire kitchen plumbing system."

He put a handful of Cheetos in his mouth and handed the bag back to Cole, who surveyed its contents, looking at the crumbs left on the bottom of the bag for a while before he decided that it wasn't worth facing Piper's wrath if he spilled them on the couch.

"Still," Cole said, putting the bag aside and turning to Leo again, "there's actually something that I'd like to ask my Whitelighter about magic."

"Really?" Leo said, curious. "What is it?"

"The Elders."

"What about the Elders?" Leo asked.

"My point exactly," Cole said. "What about the Elders? Besides being very old... I mean, they are very old, aren't they?"

"Well, yes," Leo said, shifting position on the couch in order to face Cole and resting his right arm on the back of the seat. "Most of them are much older than you are; some of them go back way before the Roman Empire."

"But where do they come from? What are they?"

"Well..." -- Leo furrowed his brown, trying to put what he had learned in the Whitelighter language into English -- "They're... Some of them were Whitelighters in the past, some were High Priests and Priestesses, a few were creatures from other realms for which we don't have a name in English."

"Priestesses?" Cole said, raising one eyebrow. "Are there female Elders?"

"Sure," Leo said. "Did you think there wasn't?"

"Well," Cole said, grinning, "after three years of listening to the girls bitch about them, I kind of started to think of them as a bunch of bigoted, chauvinist old snobs."

"Firstly," Leo said, chuckling, "just because they're old, it doesn't mean they have to look old -- and you, among all people, should know that. And, secondly, yes, there are female Elders, and they're just as respected as their male peers, if you must know."

"Do they look human?"

"Well, most of them do," Leo said, nodding. "The ones who came from other realms are humanoids, but they'd still cause quite a commotion if they showed up at the Union Square."

"Could you become an Elder, too?"

"Well..." -- Leo hesitated -- "Technically, yes. Any Whitelighter could. But of course, most of them don't: it's just not their calling."

"Is it yours?" Cole asked.

Leo hesitated, tapping his fingers lightly on the back of the couch. He shot a quick glance towards the door before turning to Cole again:

"Don't mention that to Piper."

Cole raised an inquisitive eyebrow and he explained:

"I just don't want her to start having any silly ideas about what it means to me."

Cole's eyebrow rose higher and Leo sighed and proceeded:

"While Piper and I were on probation, waiting for permission to get married, they told me that I should consider that: that I could become an Elder someday, and I should think of all the good I could do then. And that it would never happen if I married Piper."

"Sounds like blackmail to me," Cole said, frowning.

"No," Leo promptly said, "it wasn't. It was just a statement of fact. I serve Good as a Whitelighter, and also as a husband and father: that's my calling. Serving as an Elder is a different calling, and one that requires total commitment. And the fact that my life would never be whole without my family is enough proof that being an Elder isn't my calling."

"I just don't see how anyone's life can be whole without a family," Cole said, the words coming out of his mouth so naturally that he didn't even notice how odd they sounded coming from a former mercenary.

"What's a burden for one man is a gift for another," Leo said, simply. "Either way there will be sacrifices to make and things to give up, and that's why it's not a matter of which lifestyle is better, but to which one you were called. Only then it'll be worth it all."

"Is that what you said to the Elders?" Cole asked.

"I told them," Leo said, "that loving Piper and being loved by her is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

He smiled, his expression softening as he talked about Piper; unbeknownst to Leo, it had been that smile that had made more than one Elder question their initial decision to forbid their relationship.

"I told them that I'm a better man and a better Whitelighter because of her; I could never be a good Elder when my heart wouldn't be there and my soul would be longing for her every minute of the day. So, no, I'll never become an Elder. My first responsibility is to my family... and I'm glad that it is this way," he finished.

Cole, who had already died for his family once and would die again a hundred times if needed, nodded his head in understanding. Then, guys that they were, they tacitly agreed that there had been too much feeling talk for the afternoon and steered the conversation to safer ground. Emotion-free ground.

"There's something else that I've been wondering..." Cole started to say.

"For one who didn't need me to give you lessons on magic," Leo cut him off with a smirk, "you sure have a lot of questions."

"For one who's supposed to guide me," Cole retorted, making a face on him, "you sure have a smart mouth."

"So," Leo said, ignoring his remark, "what is it?"

"You know that whole thing about the girls having a destiny?" Cole said. "The prophecy about the Charmed Ones destroying the Source?"

"Are you still thinking about that?" Leo said. "You heard what the Angel of Destiny said, even if the girls had accepted his offer, it wouldn't have changed what had happened prior to that. You and Phoebe were already married and she was pregnant with Ben, and that wouldn't have changed."

"I'm not concerned about that," Cole said. "Although I'm rather disappointed," he added, grinning, "that I was frozen and thus never got to see Piper threaten to explode him if he as much as thought of messing with the Power of Three."

"Yeah, me too," Leo said, chuckling. "I can't believe we didn't get to see the guy's face."

"Do you think she'd actually be able to explode him?"

"If she couldn't freeze him, I don't think she could explode him, either. Then again," Leo added, shrugging, "anger usually gives Piper's powers quite the boost."

"As a man who's been on the receiving end of her fury," Cole said, "I have to agree with you."

"But," he proceeded, "I've been thinking of something else that the Angel of Destiny said. About how their decision wouldn't affect the destiny of the others."

Leo raised his eyebrows as he understood what Cole meant: it hadn't occurred to him then but, now that he thought about it, it sure made a lot of sense.

"Do you think he was talking...?"

"About me?" -- Cole shrugged -- "I don't know. At the time, of course, I didn't. I thought that he was referring to you, or to your children, since they'd still be half-Whitelighter. Now I wonder if he knew all along what I was. Who I was."

He shifted his feet and gave Leo an uncertain look.

"Do I, too, have..." -- he rolled his eyes in a failed attempt to look unconcerned -- "a destiny?"

Leo's hesitation lasted no more than one second as he thought of how Cole had been kept in the dark about his heritage for his entire life, while choices were made on his behalf, by his parents, by Good, by Evil. Still, he didn't answer right away, measuring his words as he figured the best way to tell Cole what he had learned since he had been assigned as his Whitelighter.

"Everyone has a destiny," he started, cautiously. "No life is so small that it doesn't matter in the great scheme of things, and every destiny that isn't fulfilled is a loss to the whole universe, and one that can't be replaced."

"You do have a destiny," he proceeded. "And even if there wasn't a prophecy about it..."

"Whoa!" Cole exclaimed, holding up his hands. "A prophecy? There's a prophecy about me?"

"Maybe 'prophecy' isn't the best word..." Leo said. "It's more like..."

He made a clicking sound with his tongue and Cole gave him a puzzled look.

"I don't know how to say that in English," Leo explained with an apologizing shrug. "I had never talked about it with anyone other than the Elders and other Whitelighters, and..."

"What!" Cole cut him off. "Has everyone been talking about me up there?" -- he frowned, giving a suspicious look towards the ceiling.

"Not **_everyone_**," Leo assured him. "Just the Whitelighters of the witches who..."

"Witches I don't know have been talking about me???"

"Just the ones who are part of your..." -- Leo made the clicking sound again.

"This has better mean 'family'."

"Look," Leo said, slightly amused, holding up his hands defensively. "This destiny thing... It's not always straightforward, like the prophecy made by Melinda Warren when she was dying; as a matter of fact, it usually isn't this way."

He rubbed his forehead, for the first time realizing how many words there were in the Whitelighter vocabulary to which he knew no correspondent in English.

"You know that anecdote about the three blind men trying to figure out an elephant?" he said, tentatively. "How none of them was able to understand the elephant because each one was touching only one small part of its body? That's usually what happens when it comes to foretelling one's destiny. There's like, uh, this network of witches, who don't know each other, each one catching a glimpse of the great picture. They tell their Whitelighters what they know, and the Whitelighters tell it to the Elders, and the Elders try to put it together and make some meaning out of it."

"It doesn't sound very accurate to me..." Cole said, looking slightly disappointed.

"Actually, it's not," Leo said, shrugging. "They didn't even know it was your destiny they were reading until about one year ago."

"So, they can't be sure..." Cole said, frowning.

"They are sure now," Leo assured him. "You see, when Phoebe told me that she hadn't vanquished you three years ago, and I told it to the Elders, I didn't understand why they didn't do anything about it and just told me to wait and watch. Now I know that it was because a group of seers had been sensing a change in the pattern for a while then. When the Elders learned that there was a chance that you were crossing, they figured that it might be related to you: every decision that one takes brings them closer or further from fulfilling their destiny, and so the..." -- he sighed roughly, exasperated by his inability to find the right word.

"Elephant?" Cole offered with a small grin.

"The elephant," Leo proceeded, chuckling, "isn't static; it's... dynamic. It's alive."

"So, my elephant...?" -- Cole raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Is changing almost faster than the seers can grasp it, and it's getting stronger each day."

"Why? I haven't exactly done anything impressive," Cole said.

"You've been practicing and learning how to control your powers," Leo said. "You've already used them against evil a few times, and by doing that you stated where you stand."

"But why is it always changing?"

"It's, hum..." -- Leo hesitated and Cole gave him a slightly worried look.

"What?"

"It may be because of your mother," Leo blurted out.

"What about my mother?" Cole asked, perking.

"Your relationship to her will affect your choices," Leo said, cautiously. "Not necessarily in a bad way," he quickly added, "but, still, things have changed lately; you've learned a lot about her."

"I've learned that she loved my father," Cole said, defensively. "And me."

"Look," Leo said, holding up his hands in a conciliatory manner, "all I'm saying is that you're still trying to figure out this part of your life. And, since every decision that you take affects your destiny, the rather confused place in which you are right now may be the reason why the pattern keeps changing."

"Anyway," he added, "this is just a guess. All we know is that you still have some big choices ahead of you."

"Is this you talking or the Elders?" Cole asked, watching him intently.

"Both."

Before he could reply, Piper entered the room.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked, looking at their serious expressions. "Is this Whitelighter-witch talk or just chitchat?"

"A little of each," Cole said. "Something the matter?"

"Not really," she said, "I just need something from the basement."

"I'll get it for you." -- Leo promptly stood up, not wanting her to walk her very pregnant body down those narrow stairs.

Piper smiled and went back to the kitchen, and he turned to Cole before following her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I think you gave me a headache," Cole said, frowning. Leo gave him an uncertain look and he rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, Leo. We can go back to this later. Go see what Piper wants," he added, dismissing Leo with a wave of his hand, "before she gets tired of waiting and rolls down the stairs."

"We're on the same side here," Leo said, giving him a slightly concerned look. "You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah," Cole said quietly, "I know."

Leo slapped his shoulder lightly and headed to the kitchen; before he left, though, Cole said:

"You're doing a good job."

Leo turned around, giving him a confused look and he added, shrugging:

"Being a, hum, my Whitelighter."

"Well," Leo said with a smile, "you're not doing bad, either."

Cole watched as he turned around to leave; then, as Leo was crossing the doorway he called him again:

"Leo?"

As the Whitelighter gave him an interrogative look, he asked out of the blue:

"What do you dream of?"

Leo looked confused, and Cole explained:

"The nightmares. I've told you about my nightmares, but you've never told me yours."

"Oh, that," Leo said. He hesitated, digging his hands into his pockets.

"I dream of the day the Source was vanquished," he said. "It all happens again..." -- he sighed -- "but I'm always too late to catch you."

He looked at Cole's dumbfounded face and shrugged.

"I guess it's a typical Whitelighter's nightmare," he said with a small smile, before leaving the room.

------------------------------

"Suits are so..." -- Buffy shrugged -- "adult."

She was leaning against the window frame in Phoebe and Cole's room at the new house, watching as Phoebe took Cole's clothes from a cardboard box and hung them in the closet. Now that Liusaidh was no longer a threat, they intended to pick it up from where they had left one week before and finish the moving that weekend, after Buffy's curse had been dealt with.

"Yeah," Phoebe murmured, running her hand lovingly over the dark suit she was hanging. "I guess they are."

She put the suit in the closet and turned to Buffy again.

"I guess **_we_** are," she said. "Cole and I. Adults."

"Oh, I didn't mean it that way!" -- Buffy blushed when she realized what she had just said -- "I don't, I didn't mean that you're old."

"I know," Phoebe said, smiling as she took a shirt out of the box and inspected it out of habit, looking for missing buttons. "And, you know what? I like being an adult. I never thought I'd say that, but I really do."

She giggled and proceeded, hanging the shirt in the closet and reaching out to take another one out of the box:

"Cole sometimes calls me in the middle of the day and says that he loves me, and that he misses me, and that he can hardly wait for me to get home from work so that he can tear my clothes off and make love to me all evening..." -- she chuckled -- "... and then he asks me to stop at the drugstore on my way home to buy diapers."

"And the funny thing is, I love it," she sighed. "I love that we've been apart for only a few hours and he already misses me enough to call me, and I love that he never gets tired of telling me how much he loves me, just like I never get tired of listening, and I love that he really wants me that badly... But I also love it that he keeps track of these things and always knows before we run out of diapers, or anti-rash powder, or Ben's favorite cereal."

Phoebe leaned her back against the closet door, the shirt hanging loosely from her hands and a soft smile on her lips.

"I love that he has ruined some of his best clothes because he doesn't bother to change them before he rolls on the floor with Ben. I love that he never tells me that he thinks Piper's lasagna is much better than mine even though he never repeats mine and he always repeats hers twice. I even love it when I send him to the market and he comes back with a dozen things that I didn't ask and usually forgets something that I did ask."

She sighed dreamily, lowering her eyes to the white shirt in her hands. Buffy watched as she gingerly hung the shirt inside the closet, running her hands lightly over it to straighten it up, a smile still lingering on her lips as she handled Cole's clothes.

"You love him so much..." Buffy sighed, with a hint of longing in her voice.

"You may not realize that," she added as Phoebe turned around to face her, "but your entire face lights up when you talk about Cole. You glow."

"Yes," Phoebe said softly, "I do. I love him so much. And I'm happier than I ever thought I could be."

She saw the look on Buffy's face and her heart churned because it was so obvious that the girl was dying to talk about something, but she didn't seem to know how to bring up the subject.

"Buffy," Phoebe said gently, approaching her. "Honey, if you don't tell me what it is that is eating you inside, I can't help you," she said, taking the younger girl's hands in hers.

At first, Buffy didn't answer. Then, just as Phoebe was starting to fear that she might have pushed too hard, she said in a voice that was little more than a whisper:

"His name was Angel."

Phoebe arched her eyebrows, surprised: this was not what she had expected to hear. Still, she nodded her head and, without a word, leaned on the window frame by Buffy's side and listened as she talked about the vampire Angelus, who had spread horror throughout Europe for almost two centuries, until a curse restored his soul, condemning him to be forever haunted by his heinous deeds. Buffy told her of how Angelus had then took the name Angel, in an attempt to leave his evil past behind, and fled to America about eighty years ago, and of how the two of them had met in Sunnydale when Buffy was 15. Phoebe listened in a sympathetic silence as Buffy told her of their love, the doubts that had plagued both of them, Slayer and vampire, the reactions of her family and friends, the attempts of Darla, Angelus' sire and former lover, to turn him back to evil.

Buffy's hands were shaking as she told Phoebe that the curse also said that, if Angel ever experienced a moment of true happiness, his soul would be taken away again, and of how their first night of love had brought back the monster. Phoebe silently put her arm around her shoulders as she told her about the murder of Jenny Calendar by the hands of Angelus, understanding all too well the hurt and the shame, the silent "I knew it" in the back of the eyes of the ones she loved the most, even as they tried to support her and comfort her, the feelings of betrayal, the guilt for having trusted him, for having brought evil into the lives of her loved ones.

As Buffy spoke of the mayhem Angelus had caused in Sunnydale, she slowly slid down the wall; when she told Phoebe of the night she had killed him, both girls were sitting on the floor, with their backs leaning against the wall. And as Phoebe held her and rocked her gently, Buffy finally got to mourn for her lost love. In the arms of the woman who had gone through the same ordeal, she allowed herself to cry for the good man Angel had been before the beast took over, and for the love they had fought so hard to keep, knowing that Phoebe would never think that the man she had loved wasn't worth her tears.

Phoebe held her without a word, stroking her hair, until Buffy's sobs finally started to diminish. She listened as Buffy talked in a low voice, speaking of how Angel had eventually managed to escape from hell, and of how they had tried again, but had finally given up on their relationship and he had left for Los Angeles, where he now fought his own good fight.

"I miss him," Buffy whispered. "I miss the laughing and the arguing, and going out on patrol with him, and being with someone who knows who I am, what I am, and can relate to it..." -- she sighed and closed her eyes -- "I miss being in love."

"So," Phoebe cautiously said, stroking the blond head that rested on her lap, "there's no one in your life right now?"

Buffy stiffened and Phoebe, who had once been in a relationship that she had to hide from the rest of the world, didn't miss the signs.

"Buffy?" she said, taking her hand off Buffy's hair as this one sat up.

"I don't... It's not..." she stammered, looking away from Phoebe. "He's a monster!" she burst out. "Spike doesn't have a soul, there's nothing human about him! And I don't... I just can't..."

She seemed on the edge of tears again, and Phoebe, not knowing what else to do, pulled her close and hugged her tight.

"I'm a sick person," Buffy whimpered. "I should never, I shouldn't even let him get near me..."

"You're not sick," Phoebe said, firmly. "You're hurt, and as confused as one could possibly be, and may have made some poor choices, but there's nothing sick about you."

She gave Buffy a reassuring hug before proceeding:

"Honey, there may be a lot of things that a guy will do in order to get laid, but some things he'll only do if he actually cares for the girl. And deep down I think you know that."

As Buffy pulled away and shot her an incredulous look, Phoebe gave her a slightly amused smile.

"I'm not saying that you **_should_** be with him; all I'm saying is, you **_can_** be with him, if that's what you want."

"I don't..." Buffy started to say, but then she thought again, her shoulders slumping slightly. "I don't even know what I want any more," she sighed.

"Does he go out on patrol with you?" Phoebe asked.

"Like he would get the hint that he isn't welcome!..." Buffy grunted.

"Do you two argue?"

"God, yes!"

"Do you laugh?"

Buffy squirmed, looking down at her fingernails.

"Hum, yes," she muttered, unwillingly. "Sometimes."

"And he knows what you are," Phoebe said, "and he understands what it means."

"And he mocks it like there's no tomorrow," Buffy said, bitterly.

"Yet he helps you even when you tell him not to."

Buffy didn't say anything and just leaned back on the wall again.

"It just doesn't feel right," she murmured, sadly. "If I was to make it work with a vampire, it should have been with Angel."

"Why don't you go to Los Angeles?" Phoebe asked gently. "You could talk to Angel, try to work it out now that you're older and more mature. I'm sure the Hellmouth could survive your absence for a few days and, even if it can't, we can cover for you. If that's what you want."

Buffy just stared at the wall across the room for a long time before she answered.

"No," she whispered. She chewed lightly on her lower lip and added: "I love Angel, and I always will. He was my first love, my ally and my friend, and I know that he'll always be there for me when I need him, just like I will be there for him, but I..."

She sighed and finished in a low voice:

"I won't go to LA."

"But I don't love Spike," she insisted, looking at Phoebe again. "I don't. I don't even like him. I just..." -- she sighed and looked away -- "In some sort of sick, twisted way, he's been the one thing that's keeping me sane these days."

"And now," she snorted self derisively, "you must think I'm a freak."

"No, I don't," Phoebe promptly said. "But I do think that no guy, vampire or not, should be the one thing keeping you sane. And I think," she added, "that you've been carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders for way too long."

She chuckled softly, a hint of sadness in her voice as she added:

"You're a lot like my sister Prue."

Buffy gave her a puzzled look and she explained:

"Big sister, older than Piper; she died two years ago. She had a thick head just like yours," she added, playfully knocking on Buffy's head. "And demanded much more from herself than from others, Miss Anything-That-I-Can't-Solve-By-Myself-No-One-Can-So-What's-The-Point-Of-Asking-For-Help."

She held Buffy's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as she proceeded:

"Sunnydale is not that far away from San Francisco, specially when we have the Whitelighter Airlines for emergencies. Don't try to save the world all by herself, Buffy. It's a big world; that's why it has many champions." -- Buffy opened her mouth, but Phoebe held up her hand, silencing her -- "You help us with our demons, we help you with yours."

"It's a deal," Buffy said with a smile.

Just then, they heard Willow's voice coming from the corridor:

"Buffy? Phoebe?"

"In here," Buffy said, standing up and quickly wiping the remaining tears with the back of her hand.

As Phoebe, too, got back to her feet, Willow showed up at the doorway.

"Tara is on the phone. Cell phone. With Xander," she stammered, flustered. "She called his cell phone, and he's here, I mean, he's there, at the manor, and I think you should talk to her, and she is, she said, Xander said, we may need to go back to Sunnydale tonight. And I'm babbling again," she finished unhappily.

"Is this major big bad induced babbling," Buffy asked, "or just, you know, regular Tara induced babbling?"

"Tara," Willow sighed, staring at her feet as they walked down the stairs.

With a sympathetic smile, Buffy silently linked arms with her friend, and the three girls walked back to the manor, where they found Cole and Anya sitting on the couch, watching as Xander paced back and forth the living room, talking on his cell phone.

"Uh-hum... I see," he was saying. "I see. So, do you know where will this...? Uh-hum. Right. Look, Tara," he said as he saw Buffy enter the room, "Buffy is here, I'll hand the phone to her, okay?"

As he gave the phone to Buffy, Phoebe asked him, concerned:

"Is your friend in trouble?"

"No," Xander said. "She just wanted to warn us that some Galla demons are having a big soul auction in Sunnydale tomorrow night."

"How did she find out?"

"She found one of the flyers they're using to promote the event; there's even a map showing how to find the place."

"They were distributing flyers???" Phoebe exclaimed, giving him an astonished look.

"It's Sunnydale," Xander replied, shrugging.


	16. One word is too often profaned

Spike arrived at sunset, just as Leo was orbing back from Victor's house. After much deliberation, Phoebe decided to ask him to take Ben to her father's house, under the very convenient excuse that she needed to talk to Anya before the summoning of Henrietta. Her father still didn't know about the consequences of his bitter words, and she didn't feel like confronting him just yet. As for Cole, he had his mind set on postponing that talk for as long as humanly possible.

"So?" Cole asked, looking from Anya to Phoebe as the two girls entered the living room, coming back from the solarium.

"I'm not sure," Phoebe admitted," but if the curse brought up either the worst memories or the greatest fears of each of us, I'd say that what Anya saw that night was just the representation of the anxiety she feels towards her wedding day. Something to which I can totally relate," she added, giving Anya a sympathetic smile.

"You had good reason to be anxious about our wedding day," Cole reminded her.

"I know," Phoebe said, placing her hand on his arm. "And that's why I'm not willing to dismiss Anya's experience as just a regular case of cold feet. But that doesn't mean that it couldn't very well be just that," she reasoned. "Especially when you think of all the heartache Anya has witnessed during the last thousand years."

"Anyway," she added, "whatever it is, it's about the wedding day, and we'll be there, four witches and one Whitelighter, paying extra attention to anything unusual."

"Yeah, between vengeance demons, a bleached vampire and a green and blue elf, I'm sure anything unusual will jump to the eyes," Cole sighed.

"Don't forget to tell Sarsour that he's supposed to give us a wedding gift," Anya reminded him, the irony lost on her.

"I will," Cole said, smiling.

"And tell your mother..." she started to say.

"That even a city like Sunnydale isn't open-minded enough to overlook the presence of an upper level demon of her caliber," Cole finished the sentence for her, nodding mindfully. He had tried to explain to Anya that he and his mother weren't on the best of terms now that they were fighting on opposite sides, and it had earned him a twenty-minute lecture about filial respect.

"I will," he said. "I'm sure she'll understand, and she'll wish you all the best even so."

"Tell her that she can send her gift through you."

"Sure," Cole said, innerly flinching at the idea of buying two wedding gifts.

"I think we're ready for Henrietta," Phoebe said before Anya thought of someone else who could send their gift through Cole. "I say we start it now so that we can put it behind us before dinner."

"Everything we need is already in the attic," Piper told her. "Is everyone ready?" she asked, turning to the others.

When everyone nodded their agreements, Leo took her hand and orbed out, while the others headed to the stairs.

"I thought we were going to do it at Phoebe and Cole's," Willow said to Paige as they walked up the stairs.

"We decided to give the fish a break," Paige told her with a smile.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

When they arrived in the attic, Leo had already moved the Book of Shadows and its pedestal to the corner of the room. He had placed a small table in the middle of the room, and Paige took the chain off her neck, slid the pendant off it and gingerly placed the pendant on the table.

"What are you gonna use?" Cole asked when Paige gave the chain back to Buffy and went join her sisters across the room. "Potion or spell?"

"The potion would have to be poured over Henrietta's bones," Piper explained. "I don't think there's anything left of them, even if we knew where to find them. So, spell it is."

"Uh, honey, the spell must be said by a ghost," Phoebe reminded her, arching her eyebrows.

"Actually, the Book of Shadows doesn't say 'ghost'," Piper said, drawing the piece of paper containing the spell out of the pocket of her sweatpants. "It says 'dead person'," she said, thrusting the piece of paper into Spike's hand.

"What!" Spike yelped, giving her a shocked look that was matched to different degrees by the looks on the faces of everyone else bar Paige, Willow and Leo, who had discussed the idea earlier that afternoon.

"This spell must be said by a dead person," Piper calmly told the vampire. "You're a dead person, thus you say the spell."

"No bloody way!" he exclaimed, trying to give the paper back to her. "I am not saying a spell!"

"Yes, you are," Piper said, firmly. "We hope it won't come to this but, if it's necessary, you'll say the spell, because you're the only one who can."

"He's dead, too!" Spike said, pointing at Leo.

"You're deader," Paige said. "Leo breathes, and his heart beats."

"Whatever," Spike said stubbornly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I'm not doing it."

"Actually, I think Leo should be the one saying the spell," Buffy piped in.

"Exactly," Spike said, promptly putting the piece of paper on Buffy's waiting hand.

"Buffy..." Piper started to say, but Buffy was already turning to Leo.

"Spike can't do this," she said, handing the piece of paper to him. "It'll take someone with real powers, not just a vampire."

"Exac... What!?!"

"Spike, you have no powers," Buffy said bluntly. "Being a living dead isn't a power."

"I have no..." -- Spike huffed and stalked across the room, snatching the paper from Leo's hand.

"I have no powers! Yeah, right," he grunted to himself as he went back to Piper's side. "I'll show her no powers."

"So," he said to Piper, oblivious to her amusement, "what's the drill? You Powerpuff Girls summon the lovelorn ghost, I read the spell and she's history?"

"No," Piper said, frowning. "We summon Henrietta and we try and **_talk _**to her. When and if everything else fails, we say the word and you read the spell. But only when we tell you so: you'd better get this straight, Spike, otherwise I'll keep you frozen until it's time to say the spell."

"Yeah, fine..." Spike muttered sullenly, willing to show Buffy that he was perfectly capable of casting the spell.

"Right," Piper said, smiling at Buffy behind Spike's back. "Let's summon her, then."

She and her sisters turned toward the table and together they started to chant, focusing on the woman whose essence was trapped in the pendant.

Slowly, the pendant started to irradiate a soft red light, the air wavering mildly around it as the words of the spell were said; the air felt thick and heavy, making it hard to breath.

"Is it... is it bleeding?" Willow said in a nervous voice, staring at the droplets of blood on the table. She winced and rubbed her temples; suddenly she wanted to be home, she wanted it so badly. She needed to see Tara. Tara who was alone in Sunnydale, with the Hellmouth. Tara was hurt, hurt, hurt... "Stop it!" she mentally ordered herself. "Tara is fine, it's just the curse playing games with your head."

"Are you sure this is working?" Cole said, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead. His stomach churned, yet he just couldn't take his eyes off of the pendant, which was now surrounded by a thick red fog.

_None shall live._

The words were floating in the air, swirling around them.

_Never go for the kill when you can go for the pain._

Whispering.

_Let evil make you strong again, give into it._

Moaning.

_Begging now! Make it stop!_

Crying.

_Hear me! Keeper of darkness!_

"Again," Leo instructed as the girls finished the spell.

He leaned on the wall for support, anxiously watching Piper's pale face. The red fog now engulfed the entire table, slowly swirling around it.

Paige gasped and missed a verse when Spike vamped and threw his head back, letting out a long, suffering howl, like a wounded animal.

"Chant," Leo insisted.

Phoebe's voice faltered, and Cole quickly moved to her side and put his arms around her. She gratefully leaned back against him, and he added his voice to hers, reading the words of the spell along with her and her sisters. The air around the pendant fluttered wildly and the table shook while the two different magics tried to adjust to each other. Then, as they found balance, the table settled down, and a column of bright red smoke rose from the floor to the ceiling, surrounding the table.

"Dawn!" Buffy shrieked, staring at her sister. Dawn was standing by Anya's side, only the white of her eyes showing and her hair standing on ends. She uttered a few guttural words and Buffy took a step towards her, but Leo stopped her:

"I'll take care of her. They may need you here."

"She's..." Buffy started to say.

"The Key," he said, nodding. "I know."

With one last worried look to Piper, Leo hurried towards Dawn and, taking the girl's hand, orbed her to the safety of the first floor, away from the curse's influence. The red column in the middle of the room wavered and flickered wildly, pulling in all directions, as if there were two opposite powers, one trying to set Henrietta free while the other fought to restrain her.

As Piper, Phoebe, Paige and Cole started to say the spell for the third time, Xander felt Anya lean heavily against him, and caught her just in time before she fell to the floor. He looked around, but Leo still hadn't come back and Paige was needed to say the spell, so he scooped Anya up and backed away from the pendant, putting as much distance as possible between Anya and it.

Willow looked anxiously from the column of red smoke to Piper, Phoebe, Paige and Cole; after a moment of hesitation, she held up her hand towards them and commanded:

"_Amplificare!_"

The four witches gasped as the power surged through them, and the red column exploded with the sound of shattering glass, while Willow collapsed onto a nearby chair, panting. Wood fragments from the table flew in all directions and they had to duck to avoid the deadly projectiles.

Phoebe screamed in pain and dug her fingernails on Cole's forearm when a sharp piece of wood pierced into her thigh, and Cole pulled her to behind a large trunk, covering her body with his. He cast a worried look towards Piper and Paige and was relieved to see Paige orb her sister across the room, where they both hid behind a wardrobe. In the meantime, Xander crawled towards a desk, still holding Anya in his arms; he crouched behind it, holding her tight as she buried her face on his chest. Across the room, Buffy helped a still groggy Willow to hide behind an old armchair; before she could do the same, though, a crimson spectre launched itself towards her with a roaring sound; she turned around just in time to see Spike jump on the way of the spectre, still wearing his game face. The vampire was thrown across the room and towards a bookcase, whose contents fell on top of him as he fell heavily to the floor, while Buffy was thrown in the opposite direction and crashed against the wall.

Spike sat up on the floor, barely acknowledging the pain as his eyes quickly scanned the room, looking for Buffy. At first he didn't understand what the hell Piper was yelling about:

"Spike, the spell!"

He struggled to get back to his feet while all hell broke loose in the attic. The armchair behind which Willow was hiding was pushed by an invisible force, making her scream in pain as she was crushed between it and the wall with a sound of broken bones.

"Read the damn spell!" Paige shouted before she left Piper's side and orbed towards Willow.

"Leo!" Cole called out as the window exploded and shattered glass rained down on Xander and Anya.

"The spell!" Spike repeated as the words sank in. "The spell, the spell," he muttered to himself as he crouched on the floor and started to frantically search for the piece of paper, browsing among the books.

"Sodding hell," he cursed angrily as a few more books fell from the bookcase. "Come on, come on!" he pleaded between clenched teeth.

Leo orbed in just in time to be hit across the chest by a stool and stumble to the floor.

"Spike, read the spell!" Cole screamed while he pulled Leo to behind the trunk just before an antique typing machine hit the floor on the very spot where the Whitelighter had been.

Spike cursed again, his hands working frantically among the books, millions of books, small books, large books, dictionaries, recipe books, poetry books...

"Bloody Nora!"

Spike's eyes widened and he scrambled back to his feet, game face off, unceremoniously kicking books out of his way.

"I know!" he exclaimed, transfixed, and the red spectre swirled away from Buffy and towards him.

"Spike, read the..." -- Buffy started to say, but he held up his hand to silence her.

"Shush, pet," he said, furrowing his brown in concentration, oblivious to the red shadow flying menacingly towards him.

"One word is too often profaned for me to profane it," Spike said, slowly. As the spectre halted, he added, still holding up his hand: "Wait. Wait, I know it."

He bit his lower lip, thinking furiously. One lamp exploded near him, but he didn't even flinch.

"One feeling is, uh... One feeling... Think, damn it, think!" he angrily muttered to himself, closing his eyes.

"Sp..." -- Buffy didn't finish the sentence as she had to dive under a desk to avoid the same typing machine that had almost hit Leo.

_"One word is too often profaned for me to profane it,"_ Spike said again, all tension suddenly leaving him as the words came back to him.

_"One feeling too falsely disdain'd for thee to disdain it."_

He tilted his head to the side, giving the spectre a curious look. It was now hovering in the middle of the room, and Spike proceeded, the words coming out of this mouth easily as he recalled the verses that young William had once loved:

_"One hope is too like despair for prudence to smother,_

_And pity from thee more dear than that from another."_

The room was now silent except for the vampire's voice; Piper warily peered around the wardrobe and Buffy crawled from under the desk and stood up, leaning on it; Phoebe sat up with Cole's help, ignoring the pain in her leg as she watched Spike from behind the trunk.

_"I can give not what men call love," _Spike said,_ "but wilt thou accept not..."_

_"... the worship the heart lifts above," _a female voice coming from the red spectre finished the sentence for him, _"and the heavens reject not?"_

_"The desire of the moth for the star," _he said quietly,_ "of the night for the morrow?"_

_"The devotion to something afar," _the voice finished,_ "from the sphere of our sorrow?"_

Willow and Paige, sitting side by side on the floor, gaped at the scene before them, the vampire and the ghost of the short brunette that slowly appeared before him, her shoulders slumping as she said in a whisper:

"Percy Shelley. We used to read it together."

Her British accent was stronger than Spike's, with a different cadence that went back to the late 19th century. Her translucid feet barely touched the floor, a ghostly visage with sorrowful eyes.

"Not a bad choice," he said conversationally. "Although I personally prefer the works of Francis Palgrave."

Then he cleared his throat, suddenly self-conscious, and, avoiding the dumbfounded looks turned towards him, swirled on his heels and walked straight to the door. Buffy opened her mouth to speak as he walked past her, but he cut her off before she could say a word.

"I'll go see how the Niblet is doing," he said without looking back at her, in an unusually sober voice.

Buffy watched as he walked through the door and down the stairs, and then almost unwillingly turned her attention back to the ghost still standing in the middle of the attic.

"Henrietta?" Piper called tentatively.

"Why have you brought me back?" she asked, turning to Piper with accusing eyes. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"We want to help you," Phoebe said, standing up. There was a large bloodstain on the right leg of her jeans, slowly growing around the wood piece that was still stuck into her thigh.

"You are too late," Henrietta said bitterly, while Cole gently but firmly made Phoebe sit on the trunk so that Leo could heal her leg. "I am beyond help."

"You'd be surprised," Cole said, a small smile on his lips as he fondled Phoebe's hand.

"Are you mocking my pain?" she lashed out, turning angrily to him.

"You're holding on to the wrong things, Henrietta," Phoebe said. "Your pain isn't what will help you through this."

"You know nothing about me," Henrietta hissed. "My pain is all I have."

"What about your love?" Piper asked, warily walking around the wardrobe.

"Love," Henrietta snorted. "Love is but a beautiful word in the mouth of poets."

"It..." Piper started to say but Henrietta cut her off.

"It carries hope of brighter times and new beginnings," she said. "And sometimes it may even live up to its promises. But sometimes," she said grimly, "sometimes love just is not enough."

"Don't say that," Phoebe said as she stood up. "Don't say that. Ever."

Henrietta opened her mouth to reply, but Phoebe proceeded:

"Don't say that, Henrietta. Infatuation is not enough. Passion, chemistry, desire are not enough. But love..." -- her voice cracked just a little, love bursting from her eyes as she glanced at Cole -- "Love **_is_** enough. Always. At the end of the day, love is all that matters. It's the one thing that will help you through it all."

"It was not enough for us," Henrietta insisted. "It did not prevent us from being shattered."

"Love won't prevent you from being hurt," Cole said quietly, placing his arm around Phoebe's waist. "But it's what will heal you."

"It is too late," Henrietta said, shaking her head. "My love is gone. Forever. I should have seen him; we should have talked. Now it is too late and there is so much I will never be able to tell him." -- her voice wavered as she said the last words, and she looked away.

"Death," Piper said, the hand resting on her stomach instinctively finding the spot where she could feel the baby's head pressing against her lower abdomen, "is hardly the end."

Henrietta narrowed her eyes, giving her a suspicious look, and Piper said gently:

"We can help you find closure. We're witches, too; let us help you, Henrietta."

"You are powerful witches," Henrietta acknowledged in a whisper. "I could feel your power."

She watched warily as the five candles were placed in a circle on the floor and Piper, Phoebe and Paige held hands and started to chant again:

_"Hear my words, hear my cry,  
Spirit from the other side.  
Come to me, I summon thee,  
Cross now the great divide."_

Henrietta let out a strangled cry when a tall man with sandy hair appeared in the center of the circle formed by the candles.

"Lucas!" she breathed, raising her hand to her throat.

"Hettie," he said, smiling softly at her.

The others watched as the two lovers walked towards each other, their diaphanous hands blending into each another as they met in the middle of the attic.

"My love," she said tearfully. "Oh, love..."

"Ah, Hettie," he whispered. "Ah, love, it has been so long!..."

"It has been an eternity..." she sighed, closing her eyes.

"Not an eternity," Lucas said. He raised his hand, reaching out for her face, and she opened her eyes as if sensing the touch of his incorporeal hand. "Eternity lies ahead of us, Hettie."

"Not for me," she said, shaking her head. "For me there has been only the darkness; empty and cold, like hell should be." -- she bit her lower lip, giving him an hesitant look -- "Lucas, am I in hell?"

"You have been in a hell of your own making," he gently told her. "Hell is what is left when you give up on hope."

"You have lost hope, Hettie," he said when she lowered her head. "And love cannot exist where there is no hope."

"I never stopped loving you!" she exclaimed, her head jolting up to face him again. "I never, ever..."

"The beautiful love we shared was tainted when you let your heart fill with hatred," Lucas said.

Henrietta opened her mouth to protest, but he held up his hand to silence her.

"I know that you never stopped loving me, and I never stopped loving you, either. I have been waiting for you, love, hoping that some day you would be ready to move on."

He looked at her with eyes bursting with love as he pleaded:

"Before you cross, you must let go, Hettie. Let go of the hurt and the anger that have been poisoning your heart for so long."

"It has kept me alive," she said tearfully.

"No," Lucas said, shaking his head. "No, it has not. It has kept you from living. You cannot cross if you are not free, love, and you will not be free until you can forgive and forget."

There was a long silence as Henrietta lowered her head again, avoiding Lucas' eyes.

"Lucas, I am scared," she finally whispered.

"Don't be," he said softly. "You can do it, and I am here to help you."

He backed one step, still smiling encouragingly at her, and went back to the circle formed by the candles. Henrietta watched him without a word; her face was stricken as she relived in her mind the days that had preceded her death, the accusations and the hate that she had faced then. She took a hesitant step towards Lucas, but stopped short when the flame of the candles fluttered wildly.

"You can do it. Hettie," Lucas said. "You were wild and short tempered, and sometimes reckless, but you were always generous. That was your gift, love; if you lose it, evil will have won."

The others held their breaths as Henrietta closed her eyes, gathering the necessary serenity and strength. When she opened her eyes again, she looked at Lucas for support; he smiled at her, nodding his head, and she started to chant in a quiet but steady voice:

_"Past offenses shall be past  
Words of hate, not meant to last  
Bless the one who once was curs'd  
As the rancour bonds are burst."_

As she said the words of the forgiveness blessing, and said them from her heart, Henrietta's expression softened, the tension leaving her shoulders as a the pendant started to glow with a soft golden light that lit up the entire room.

"So mote it be," Lucas said, smiling.

"So mote it be," Henrietta echoed, walking towards him.

She buried herself in Lucas' arms with a sigh, while the light slowly faded and the pendant stood still again.

"What now?" she quietly asked him.

"Now," he replied with a smile, "we fly back home."

Henrietta rested her head on his chest again and he placed a loving kiss on her forehead before raising his head to address the others for the first time.

"Thank you," he said. "Blessed be."

Henrietta's pulled slightly away from him to look at the people gathered in the attic.

"So much power," she whispered. "And there is more, much more to come; I see bloodshed, but I also see miracles."

Before anyone could question her, she added with a smile:

"Blessed be." Then turning to Lucas again: "Take me home, love."

And then he smiled back at her, and they faded away while the candles burned out, one by one.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

"How was it?" Dawn asked when she saw the others coming down the stairs.

She was lying on the couch, and Spike was sitting on the coffee table before her. She tried to prop herself up to a sitting position on the couch, which earned her a frown from him.

"I'm fine!" she protested when he tried to make her lie back on the couch.

"Well, after Spike came join you..." Phoebe started to say, but Dawn cut her off, shaking her head.

"Before that," she said, shoving Spike's hand away and sitting on the couch. "I want to know how Spike stopped the ghost, but he won't tell me."

"Yeah, Spike," Xander said, sitting on an armchair opposite to them and pulling Anya to his knees. "What exactly was that? Poetry night of the living dead?"

"Poetry?!?" Dawn squealed. "Spike recited poetry and I missed it?"

"She had a premonition of how the ghost would be stopped," Spike said, rolling his eyes and pointing at Phoebe. "But since she only knew the first verse of the poem, and no one else had the necessary education, I had to step in."

He caught sight of Buffy's skeptical expression and said sourly:

"Hey, just because I'm a vampire it doesn't mean that I was some illiterate clodhopper when I was alive. My family was something in London," he added, and even as he said that he could see Cecily's face in his mind, the look in her eyes as she had turned him down because he was "beneath her".

"Unlike the Irish rabble," he remarked angrily, standing up and brushing away the humiliating memory.

"So, Dawnie," Willow hastily asked, willing to change the subject from the issues between Spike and Angel, "what was that that you said back in the attic?"

Dawn just shrugged, clueless, and Cole answered Willow's question:

"From beneath, it devours." The others looked at him and he explained. "It was a demonic language."

"Oh, please, not another magical riddle!..." Anya sighed, rolling her eyes.

All eyes turned to Spike, but the vampire huffed and dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

"We're closed for business," he said grouchily. "Come back tomorrow during business hours."

"Let's eat," Piper said conciliatorily. "I've made stuffed artichokes with smoked salmon salad, and I think we should open a few bottles of wine to celebrate this very eventful two-curses-for-the-price-of-one week."

As they were heading to the dining room, Paige placed her hand on Buffy's arm.

"Here," she said, handing the pendant to Buffy. "You forgot this in the attic; I think it's safe to wear it now that it's curse-free."

"Thank you," Buffy said, receiving the pendant.

She stayed behind while the others walked to the dining room, staring at the pendant in her hand with a thoughtful expression.

"Someday," she finally said in a whisper, as she gingerly put the pendant in her pocket and headed to the dining room to join the others.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

_Later that night_

As Spike rode his motorcycle back to Sunnydale, only half of his mind was on the road. And as his mind kept replaying the events of the past week, he only grew more and more perplexed. He was used to dealing with demons and ghosts, alright; but not with witches who treated him like he was... just another guy. They had liked him or disliked him for the way he had behaved among them, and not for being a vampire or for his evil past. They had scolded him for being nasty and thanked him for saving the little wicca bit, just like they would've done to one of their own kind.

There was a bus ahead of him, and he quickly checked the mirror before changing lanes and passing it. Just another guy, he thought again, chewing lightly on his lower lip. Just one of the guys. He could get used to that. He had never thought such a thing was possible. And yet... Spike sighed thoughtfully. Changing the present, since it was too late to change the past: the idea had a certain appeal. It would run against the general belief that any good the vampire might do wouldn't count because he was an evil dead thing.

He could definitely get used to that.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

_The morning after_

Buffy was extremely silent in the car during the trip back to Sunnydale. While the others talked about the week they had spent in San Francisco and of the task that awaited them in Sunnydale, she absently looked through the window, her mind miles away from there.

As the road flew before her eyes, Buffy thought of the three women she had met.

The Charmed Ones. They had a destiny, just like she had; protectors of the innocents, targeted by evil on a daily basis. Just like she was. They had been forced to make sacrifices, and they had lost people they loved. Just like she had.

Still, they were wives and mothers. With careers, and love, and dreams. They had lives.

Just like she could have, too.


	17. Epilogue

Note #1: And now we reach the final chapter of this story! Thank you all for bearing with me through my author blocks and the demands of real life, and I hope you'll stay around for the sequel. As I said before, this series will go on and on (and on and on and on and on) for as long as there are people reading it.

Note #2: Those of you who haven't watched the last season of "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" may find Phoebe's premonition rather confusing. It refers to a lot of things that happened in that show and will actually happen further in this series, and I can only assure you that it'll all be explained in due time.

Note #3: Those of you who **_have_** watched the last season of "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" will notice that many scenes came straight from the last episode's transcript (a gazillion thanks to www . buffyworld . com . br for that). My advice is that you read them carefully, though, because even before the point where I took the reins and make it completely AU, there are some subtle (and some not so subtle) differences between the scenes shown on TV and this story.

Note #4: I have started two stories on other fandoms. In case someone is interested to read them, "Half the Size, Twice the Trouble" is being posted on the Angel section of , and "Turning Point" is on the "Nip/Tuck" section.

Note #5: Shel, I hope you enjoy the Ben fluffiness. :-)

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Strike!" Cole shouted when the ball hit his glove.

Ben giggled excitedly. Whenever daddy said "strike", it meant he was winning.

"Here, just one more," Cole said, smiling as he placed the ball in Ben's hands again. "To finish the game."

He was crouching on the ground before Ben, and the toddler opened his hands and let the ball fall on his waiting hand.

"Strike!" Cole exclaimed with great enthusiasm, making Ben giggle and clap his hands. "The Turners have won the championship, and all thanks to Ben Turner, ladies and gentlemen!"

He grabbed Ben and stood up, raising the toddler high above his head and making him squeal in delight.

"Ben was on fire this season!" Cole broadcasted, grinning as Ben laughed heartily. "He's an ace! He's a star, and the crowd loves him!"

As Cole placed Ben on his shoulders and started to make the victory lap around the back yard, Ben laughed and waved his little baseball cap in the air just like daddy had taught him. He and daddy had won; they were Turners and the Turners always won.

"Yay! Yay! Yay!" he hollered, beaming as mommy smiled proudly at him.

"That's why you shouldn't let him have so much sugar," Piper sighed, smiling as she watched father and son across the yard.

"I didn't give Ben any candy today," Phoebe said, her eyes locked on her two loves even as she poured herself some lemonade.

"I was talking about Cole."

Just then, Cole completed the victory lap and stopped before them, his face flushed from all the running and the jumping, while Ben bounced gleefully on his shoulders.

"Yay! Yay!" he exclaimed, trying to get daddy to start running again.

"Come on, champion," Cole said, lifting him from his shoulders and settling him into the crook of his arm, "let's eat. Or, at least, you'll eat," he added with a smirk. "I'll have to wait until Uncle Leo manages to light the fire."

"The fire is good!" Leo protested from his place by the grill. "And the first chicken wings are ready."

"And so is the garlic bread," Paige said, grinning as she proudly placed a basket full of her only culinary skill on the table.

"My!" Ben exclaimed when Cole reached out for the basket, but Phoebe shook her head.

"I doubt you'll like this. Here, have a chip," she said, taking a potato chip out of the bag and giving it to him.

Cole sat by Piper's side and placed Ben on his knee, where the toddler sat contently nibbling on his potato chip and occasionally babbling to himself. Piper handed him a glass of frosty lemonade, which he accepted with a grateful smile, while Phoebe helped Leo bring the chicken wings to the table.

"It smells good," Paige said, grinning as the chicken wings were placed on the table before them.

"Smells like oregano," Piper said, taking one out of the bowl. She paused, sniffing the chicken wing and added: "And lemon juice."

"And it's delicious," Phoebe added after tasting one. She handed another one to Cole and started to gingerly cut small pieces of chicken and place them on a plate for Ben.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Victor watched them through the kitchen's window with a gloomy expression. Ben managed to wiggle in Cole's arms and stick a drool covered piece of potato chip into his daddy's unwarned mouth, and Victor swallowed hard, seeing the others laugh at Cole's valiant smile as he chewed his slobbered snack.

From where he stood he couldn't distinguish the words, but he could hear their laughter and see the looks on their faces, and it spoke volumes. Cole leaned forward over the table and said something to Leo, and Piper shoved her husband's arm in feign outrage while both men laughed heartily. Victor winced as Ben looked from his uncle to his father with a curious expression before joining in their laughter, the resemblance between him and Cole painfully evident.

"He does love them." -- the fact that he had been expecting his interlocutor didn't prevent Victor from jumping in place at the sound of her voice.

"Damn it, Patty," he said to his dead ex-wife between clenched teeth. "Can't you be a little less stealthy?"

"I'll make sure to drag some chains next time," she said with a smirk.

Victor opened his mouth to make a sharp retort, but he noticed that Patty's eyes had been drawn to her family gathered in the backyard, and the longing look on her face made the harsh words die in his mouth.

"Will you go talk to them?" he asked, almost gently. "I mean, after we..."

"No," she said quietly. She dragged her eyes off the window and turned to him again. "It wasn't easy to convince the Elders to let me come talk to you, and I won't risk losing their good will when the girls may need it in the future."

"They're fine, Victor," she sighed when he shot her an alarmed look. "But they have a penchant for getting involved in some rather... heterodox situations."

"Because of **_him_**," Victor said bitterly.

"Because of who they are," Patty corrected him. "If they were ordinary, 'go-by-the-book' witches, Cole wouldn't be here, in the first place. And neither would Ben," she added, eyeing him intently.

"Patricia, if you think for one minute that I would do anything to hurt our grandson..." Victor started to say, heatedly.

"Do you think sending his father to hell wouldn't have hurt him?"

"You know I never knew it would..." -- Victor sighed roughly, running his hand through his hair -- "I can't believe you're defending him! You among all people should..."

"I among all people should be here trying to talk some sense into your thick head," she cut him off, "especially when the alternative would be letting you deal with Cole's father. Believe me, he was very willing to come have a little chit chat with you, and it wasn't easy to talk him out of it."

"The demon?" Victor asked, frowning.

"The ghost, Victor," Patty sighed impatiently. "Cole's mother is the demoness, his father was a witch. Do you know **_anything_** about your son in law?"

"I know that he lured my daughter -- our daughter -- into being his evil mistress. He lied to her and he almost got her killed, and..."

"He was possessed," Patty said, cutting him off. "Unlike Phoebe," she added quietly.

"Are you now putting the blame on her??" he asked, outraged. "You're her mother, how can you..."

"I'm her mother, and I love her with all my heart," she snapped back, "and don't you **_ever_** dare to doubt that, Victor Bennet."

The blaze in her eyes struck him silent, and she proceeded in a quieter tone:

"I never stopped loving her, not even when she chose to follow him to the Underworld and be his queen. My love for my daughters isn't based on their being perfect, as much as I'd like to think that they are."

She turned to the window again, her expression softening as she looked at them.

"None of them is perfect, Victor. What happened to them two years ago wasn't just some unavoidable tragedy brought upon them by an outsider. It was first and mainly the Source's doing, but it was also the sum of their own mistakes. And I mean all of them, including Leo and Cole himself."

She turned to Victor again and said quietly:

"I can't say that I -- or anyone else, for the matter -- would've done better than they did. Ultimately, they did defeat the Source of All Evil, and I'm proud of them. But it took **_all of them_** to defeat the Source, just like it took **_all of them_** to fail to stop him before."

"And," she added, gesturing towards the kitchen window again, "like I said before, Cole does love them. Don't tell me that you can't see that, because I know you can."

Victor sighed and unwilling turned his eyes to the people gathered in the backyard again. Leo was standing by the grill again, sprinkling the hamburgers with parsley; he smiled when Piper placed a glass of lemonade on the table next to him, and leaned down to kiss her lightly on the lips. Victor sighed and uncomfortably shuffled his feet as he turned his attention to Phoebe and Cole; Ben was now sitting with Paige, and Phoebe had taken his place on Cole's knees. She was talking enthusiastically about something, gesturing with the hand that wasn't holding a chicken wing, and Victor couldn't deny the love in Cole's eyes as he listened to her, or the comfortable intimacy that they shared. Cole made a great deal of protesting when Phoebe drank the remaining lemonade from his glass, but refilled her glass along with his own, while she placed the last chicken wing on his plate.

"I'm doing this for Phoebe and Ben," he started to say before he realized that he was alone in the kitchen again.

"Death hasn't changed you a bit, Patty Halliwell," he muttered, rolling his eyes, and he could almost hear her giggling softly in response.

Then he walked to the door that led to the backyard and placed his hand on the doorknob, taking a deep breath as he braced himself to face his daughters.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered to himself before finally opening the door and stepping into the backyard.

Victor flinched slightly when his arrival was acknowledged with a cloud of tension falling over the place. Ben looked around, puzzled by the sudden silence; when he spotted his grandpa standing at the doorway, though, he greeted him cheerfully:

"Hi!"

Ben tried to slip from Paige's knees to the ground, and Victor cringed his teeth when he saw her hold the toddler back, giving Phoebe a hesitant look.

"No no," Ben said, impatiently pushing Paige's hands away, and Phoebe stood up and took him from her sister's arms.

"Let's say hi to Grandpa Victor," she told him, her words unknowingly reminding Victor of the not so pleasant fact that now Ben had yet another grandpa.

Victor forced himself to snap away from that thought as Phoebe tugged on Cole's hand and, after saying something to Piper in a lower voice, walked towards him with her son on her arm and her husband by the hand.

There was awkward silence as they stood before him, which was broken when Ben reached out for Victor, calling again:

"Hi!"

Victor smiled in spite of himself, and gladly held his grandson when Phoebe placed him in his arms.

"Hi, you," he said to Ben before turning to Phoebe again.

"Phoebe..."

Phoebe's lower lip trembled just a little, but it was enough to make Victor's heart churn in a rather painful way.

"I didn't know, honey," he said contritely. "I was angry and half drunk, and I didn't mean..." -- he stopped and lowered his eyes to Ben, gently fingering the dark curls on the toddler's head -- "I **_did_** mean, but in that futile, will-never-happen, harmless way. If I had run into him," -- he looked at Cole -- ", you, on my way out of here that day, I'd have punched you in the nose and it'd probably have ended then and there."

"I wouldn't have blamed you," Cole said quietly.

"I would," Phoebe promptly said.

"Phoebe, can't you at least understand my anger?" Victor pleaded.

"I do understand, dad," she said. "It's just... you don't know the whole story: it's not that simple."

"Look," Victor sighed, not wanting to go down that road again, "I've already been visited by the ghost of Christmas past today. And I wish my own mother in law was so willing to jump to my defense," he added grouchily.

"Mom is here?" Phoebe squealed, Victor's wish momentarily forgotten. With the corner of his eyes he could see Piper and Paige perk up and stop pretending that they weren't listening.

"No, honey," he said gently. "The big shots up there only sent her to haunt me and then she had to go back to, uh, whatever she is now."

"Oh," she uttered, a little disappointed. Victor didn't fail to see the hand that Cole had kept on her shoulder during their interplay move to gently knead it. "So," she asked, giving him her best 'I'm-still-your-little-girl' look, "did you listen to mom?"

Victor sighed and smiled despite himself. She was indeed his little girl, and the thought that his harsh words had almost led to the events that would have broken her heart was enough to make his own heart break.

"I can't say I had a choice; you don't think that the stubbornness you and your sisters inherited from Penny skipped a generation, do you?"

She gave him a hesitant smile and he proceeded:

"If I promise never to do anything like that again, can you find it in your heart to forgive your old man?"

Phoebe's smile grew a little wider, but she just placed her hand over Cole's and stared at her father in expectation.

Victor sighed and looked at Cole; it was always more difficult to hate the man in person, when he could see his grandson's looks and mannerisms in him.

"I understand the curse was removed," he said, awkwardly.

"Yes," Cole said with a discomfort that matched his father in law's.

"Dada," Ben said out of the blue. Cole smiled at his son and he waved at him with a chubby little hand. "Mine," he proudly informed Victor.

Victor looked at the toddler's gap-toothed grin and managed to produce a faint smile before clearing his throat and turning to Cole again.

"Can we find the middle ground?" he asked. "We put past wrongs behind us and you stay out of trouble from now on. And I..." -- he cleared his throat -- "I'll wait until I hear your side of the story next time."

"It's a deal," Cole said, smiling as he held out his hand, understanding all too well how much that compromise meant for a father.

Victor's reaching out and shaking Cole's hand was rewarded with the sight of Phoebe's bright smile and a sensible reduction in the tension in the place.

"Thank you, dad," Phoebe murmured, hugging him while Ben was transferred to Cole's arms.

"My!" Ben demanded, tugging on Cole's shirt and pointing at the table with all the chips and Aunt Paige's funny smelling (and yucky tasting -- he had managed to stick one into his mouth earlier) bread. "My, my, my."

Cole planted a kiss on his son's cheek and turned to Victor again:

"So, hum... are you staying for lunch?"

"Of course he's staying for lunch," Phoebe answered on her father's behalf. She slid her arm through his and snuggled with him as they walked towards the others.

"Cole **_will_** stay out of trouble," she assured Victor while Piper stood up to greet him. "The Elders made Leo his Whitelighter, too."

"Isn't that wonderful," Victor somehow managed to grunt while Phoebe let go off his arm and Piper went hug him.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Later that day, Phoebe was in her new house, brushing her teeth before she went to bed when a golden glimpse caught her eye. She finished brushing her teeth and put her toothbrush back into the cupboard, and reached out to pick up the bracelet that Buffy had forgotten there two days before. The moment she touched it, Phoebe gasped as she was drawn into the most powerful premonition she had ever had.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

_Buffy watched as Giles parked the school bus as close as possible to the main entrance of Sunnydale High. She glanced at the sky, then at the blankets piled neatly next to the door._

_"Are you sure it's close enough?" she asked Spike for the third time. "I mean, the sun isn't very bright now, but what if later..."_

_"Tell you what, pet," Spike said with a small grin. "How about we now focus on the getting the job done down there and living to tell the story, and worry about the later, say, later?"_

_"You know the rules," she said, awkwardly shoving his arm. "No one dies unless I say so."_

_x-x-x-x-x_

"_So that leaves me and the dungeon master in the north hall?" Anya said, giving Andrew a critical look._

"_We will defend it with our very lives," he said solemnly._

"_Yes, we will defend it with his very life," she said with matching fervor._

_"And don't be afraid to use him as human shield," Xander told her, pointing at Andrew._

_"Good, yes, thanks," she said, nodding her head._

_x-x-x-x-x_

_Buffy used the knife that Faith had handed her to cut the palm of her hand. After Faith and the potentials had done the same, all the girls held their cut hands out over the seal, activating it and revealing a staircase that led down into the Hellmouth._

_x-x-x-x-x_

_"Come on, Red," Kennedy whispered. "Make it happen."_

_x-x-x-x-x_

_"I'm not worried," Buffy muttered, looking down at the Turok-Han army down the cliff, "as long as Willow can work her spell before they..."_

_One Turok-Han looked up at them and snarled._

_"... see us."_

_x-x-x-x-x_

_"Oh... my... Goddess..." Willow whispered, breathless, power surging through her as she used the essence of the scythe to turn hundreds of potentials all over the world into Slayers._

_x-x-x-x-x_

_Buffy and Faith exchanged a look while around them the potentials inhaled sharply, the power of the Chosen One suddenly becoming the power of many._

_x-x-x-x-x_

"_Anya?" Andrew called, uncertain._

_Anya blinked a few times and turned to him with a slightly dazed look before her eyes focused again and she asked, tilting her head to the side:_

"_What?"_

_x-x-x-x-x_

_Erzsebet gasped and brought her hand to her stomach._

"_Legion," she whispered. "They are now legion."_

_x-x-x-x-x_

_There was a commotion in the lobby of Wolfram and Hart as the head-seer suddenly stopped in her tracks and threw her head back, letting out a long, blood-freezing scream._

_People covered their ears with their hands and a few faint hearted ones blanched when the blood started to pour from the quivering woman's eyes._

_x-x-x-x-x_

_"I think they're coming," Andrew whimpered, taking one step back and away from the sounds of battle._

_"Oh, God," Anya said, holding her sword so tight that her knuckles were turning white. "I'm terrified. I didn't think. I mean, I, I just figured you'd be terrified, and I would be sarcastic about it."_

_"Picture happy things..." Andrew suggested, helpfully. "A lake, candy canes, bunnies..."_

_"Bunnies!" Anya muttered, narrowing her eyes. "Floppy, hoppy..." -- she perked up, raising her sword -- "... bunnies."_

_x-x-x-x-x_

_"Everybody out, now!" Faith commanded, rushing the newly empowered Slayers upstairs and out of the Hellmouth, while Buffy ran to Spike's side._

_x-x-x-x-x_

_"Anya!" Xander screamed out as he and Dawn ran to the door. "Anya!"_

_He didn't see her lying limp on the floor behind a fallen beam, half covered by rubble. Dawn tugged on his hand and pulled him toward the exit, and he followed her while the building collapsed around them._

_x-x-x-x-x_

_"I love you," Buffy said, looking into Spike's eyes._

_"Then get the hell out of here, pet," he replied. She hesitated and he added: "Don't die here with me; live for me."_

_The earth shook beneath their feet and he urged her:_

_"Go!"_

_x-x-x-x-x_

_Xander was helping the Slayers into the school bus when he spotted Andrew sitting on a seat in the back, staring blankly ahead, the front of his T-shirt covered in blood. Xander ran towards him, the question he didn't dare to ask written all over his face._

_"I-I'm sorry," Andrew said in a whisper. "She..." -- his voice faltered and he shrugged helplessly -- "I'm sorry."_

_Xander didn't answer and just stared at him, suddenly oblivious to the teenagers stumbling past him, to Giles' voice as he ushered them into the school bus, to Willow, Kennedy, Faith, all coming out of the collapsing building and running towards them._

_When part of the building came crumbling down with a roaring sound, Robin started the engine._

_"What are you doing?" Willow asked him, startled._

_"If we don't get out of here now," he said between clenched teeth. "We're going down with the Hellmouth."_

_She turned to Giles, but he gave her a helpless shrug._

_"We can't wait any more," he said. "We must..." -- the Watcher's voice cracked, and he took off his glasses and started to clean them with shaking hands, turning his back to Willow._

_Just as the school bus started to move, though, Dawn shrieked:_

_"Wait! It's Buffy!"_

_Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing, and they saw Buffy jump out of the school building just in time to avoid being crushed by a falling beam._

_The school bus screeched to a halt while she ran as fast as she could towards it and away from the collapsing building, trying to shut the voice in her head that told her to turn on her heels and go back for Spike, drag him out of the Hellmouth even if she had to knock him unconscious. She resolutely ignored the cries of this voice, though, knowing that this wasn't what Spike wanted. When he had told her that he'd stay behind to do the cleanup, deep down she knew that he wasn't just talking about the Hellmouth and the First's army; by sacrificing himself to close the Hellmouth, Spike was also making amends for his own crimes. And even as the tears rolled down her face Buffy was smiling, because she knew that the good man Spike had once been had overpowered the monster he had become, and in the end he had finally found his peace._

_As soon as she reached the bus door, she was pulled inside by her friends, and Dawn threw her arms around her neck in a fierce hug._

_"Uber-vamp!" Vi screeched just as the bus started to move again._

_For a second, Buffy actually thought that the Hellmouth had released yet another monster, which was now quickly making its way towards them. Then she realized that what made the creature who was running towards the school bus look so strange was the blanket pulled over his head and wrapped around him, which was flapping wildly as he jumped to avoid the falling pieces of what had once been the Sunnydale High building._

_Spike gritted his teeth as a sunbeam grazed the back of his hand, leaving a scorched mark on his white skin. It'd be much easier if he could use both hands to wrap the blanket tightly around himself, if he wasn't holding Anya's limp body tight against his chest. The bus seemed to be miles away, and going back to the school building was no longer an option._

_He glanced down at Anya; she still hadn't moved since he had found her lying on the floor, and even his heightened vampire senses could barely perceive her heartbeat as he held her close to him. And there was too much blood. As he flared his nostrils and inhaled the acrid scent of the blood, though, Spike could tell that not all of it was hers. _Slain your share of baddies, too, haven't you, luv? _The blanket fluttered about and yet another sunbeam made it's way to Spike's skin, making him curse out loud and increase his pace, but he could feel the blanket slowly yet inexorably slide down his head, and he knew that he wouldn't make it to the bus. He braced himself for the pain, hoping that the fall wouldn't do much more damage to Anya's already battered body when the sunlight turned him into ashes._

_And then the blanket was pulled over his head again and Buffy was by his side, helping him to the school bus while Xander took Anya from his arms. Buffy nearly lifted Spike from the ground as she dragged him to the back of the bus, where the windows had been painted black earlier and more blankets hang from the seats and across the corridor, forming a tent that provided shelter from the sun. While Spike huddled in the furthest corner of the bus, out of the sun's reach, Xander stormed into the bus, calling at the top of his lungs:_

"_THOMAS!!"_

_Taking the cue, Willow promptly added her voice to his, calling for her Whitelighter even if she knew that he couldn't hear her:_

"_Thomas! We need you here!" She looked up and proceeded angrily: "We fought the battle on our own, just like the Elders wanted! We defeated the First and we need you." -- she stomped her foot to the floor -- "Here." -- she stomped it again, her anger rising as she looked at Anya's ashen face -- "NOW!"_

_She knew that he'd come if he could, if the Elders hadn't made sure no Whitelighter would be able to orb into Sunnydale during the weeks that preceded the final battle against the First. The magical shield that had been placed over Sunnydale was so powerful that even the Power of Three hadn't been enough to break through it, either by orbing, shimmering or even walking through the city's borders, as the Elders claimed that this was the Slayer's battle. They had only managed to talk by the phone, and even that had become impossible after the power had been cut off in Sunnydale and the phone lines had been shut down._

"_THO-MAS!!!!!" she hollered again and then, to her surprise and utter relief, she heard the chiming sound that announced his orbing._

_The blue orbs hadn't settled completely and Thomas was already being unceremoniously pushed towards Anya. Without asking any questions, he reached out to heal her, and there was a collective sigh of relief when his hands started to glow softly and the ominous wound on Anya's stomach started to close._

"_She's not moving," Xander said anxiously._

"_She will..." Thomas started to say when Anya suddenly jolted up._

"_Die, bunny, die!" she yelled, hitting the Whitelighter hard enough to send him flying across the bus._

_Before she could say anything else, Xander pulled her into a bear hug, shaking uncontrollably as hot tears ran down his cheeks and onto her shoulder._

"_Xander?" she said, alarmed, trying to pull away from him. "What happened? Why are you crying? Did we lose? Are we dead?"_

"_I am," Thomas said, sitting up and rubbing his bruised chin._

"_Me too," Spike chimed in from his place on the back of the bus, and Buffy elbowed him lightly._

"_We won, Anya," Buffy said. "It's over," she sighed._

_But Anya had already turned her attention to other matters._

"_Thomas is here!" she exclaimed, managing to break free from Xander's embrace and grabbing Thomas by his arm as he prepared to heal the others._

"_British Whitelighter," she demanded, tugging on his arm, "heal Xander's eye!"_

"_Let him heal the poten... uh...Slayers," -- Xander corrected himself with a sheepish grin -- "first. I can wait. I feel fine," he added, smiling at Anya._

_Buffy watched with a smile as the Whitelighter worked his magic, healing the teenagers and talking to Willow all the while. She'd have to talk to him later, too, to know how Leo and the others were doing. "Later, though," she thought as she leaned back with a sigh, allowing herself to finally relax her sore muscles and acknowledge the fact that the fight was over for good._

"_What made you change your mind?" she quietly asked, glancing at Spike, who was sitting on the floor by her side. "I mean, about staying behind to go down with the Hellmouth."_

"_I didn't chicken out, if that's what you're thinking," he said defensively._

"_I'm not."_

"_Good." -- Spike took the amulet that still hung from the chain around his neck and gave it a puzzled look, frowning slightly. "It just stopped shining all of a sudden. Do you think I broke it?"_

"_The First's army is dust, and the Hellmouth is closed for good," she pondered, looking at the once beautiful gem, now scorched and dull. "The amulet did whatever it was that it was supposed to do."_

_She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing the back of her neck._

"_I'm glad the Elders didn't remember -- or didn't know how -- to shield Sunnydale against Angel, too. I don't think we would have made it if Phoebe hadn't been able to send the amulet through him."_

_The words had barely left her mouth and Buffy already wished she could take them back; she looked at Spike with the corner of her eye, expecting him to start another rant about the kiss she had shared with Angel on the previous night, before he traveled back to Los Angeles, but for once Spike was too concerned about other matters to peeve about Angel._

"_Do you think," he asked, casting her a somewhat sheepish look, "that maybe I should of stayed behind anyway? You know, the amulet having to be worn by a champion and all?"_

"_You _**are**_ a champion," she said. "My champion."_

_His eyebrows shot up in astonishment and she proceeded:_

"_You were ready to stay there if that was what it took to stop the apocalypse; I think the Powers That Be found it good enough."_

_She hesitated then added, looking into his eyes:_

"_I know _**I**_ found it good enough."_

"_For what it's worth," -- they turned their heads to look at Xander, crouched at the entrance of the makeshift tent -- "so do I."_

_He held out his hand and, after a moment of hesitation, Spike shook it. Just then, the bus made a sharp turn to the right and Xander had to use his free hand to grab the closest seat for support. What Spike saw then almost made him forget the searing pain when Buffy's arm brushed his badly burnt hand; as soon as he regained his balance, his hand shot forward and he grabbed Xander's left hand, looking from the golden band on his ring finger to Buffy with a puzzled expression._

"_For how long exactly was I down there?" he asked, raising an eyebrow._

_When Buffy just shrugged and gave her friend an inquisitive look, Xander said, blushing as he stared down at his wedding ring._

"_It's nothing. I just..." -- he sighed -- "I was terrified, okay? I don't have any super powers, and I needed something to help me through the battle."_

"_I understand," Buffy said gently, placing her hand over his._

"_Y'know, lad," Spike said, cocking his head to the side, "I think you should get back there now," -- he pointed to the front of the bus with his chin -- "and take a better look at _**her**_ hand."_

_At first, Xander just stared blankly at Spike. Then, as comprehension sank in, he stood up abruptly and ran back to where Anya was sitting, telling Andrew that if he thanked her one more time for saving his life she'd throw him out of the bus. He interrupted her in mid-sentence and unceremoniously grabbed her left hand, staring at her own ring._

"_It's nothing," she snapped, blushing as she snatched her hand back. "I just... I didn't want to die alone there," she said in a whisper, averting his eyes._

_When he reached out to take her hand in his again, Anya opened her mouth to protest, but then she saw his ring and she just gave him an astonished look._

"_I didn't wanna die alone, either," he said, hoarsely. "And I..." he lowered his head and gently fondled the small hand he held in his. "I don't wanna live alone, either, An."_

"_I know I have no right to ask you to trust me again," he proceeded with his eyes still down, "but I must, because there's no one else for me but you, and there'll never be. You know that I called the wedding off because I was afraid that I wouldn't be strong enough, that we'd end up hurting each other just like my parents did, but now I understand that nothing can possibly hurt more than being apart from you, and I know that I'm only weak when you're not there, because you're my strength, my soul mate, my everything..."_

_With his head down, Xander couldn't see Anya frantically nodding her head up and down, her own eyes welling with tears, and he might have kept babbling all the way to the state border if the entire bus hadn't shouted out in unison:_

"_SHE'S SAYING YES, YOU DOPE!"_

_His head snapped up and he gave her an incredulous look as she smiled through her tears and said in a choked voice:_

"_I'm saying yes, you dope."_

_When Xander pulled her to his arms for a long, loving kiss, the bus shook with the cheering and the clapping. Faith put two fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly, and even Giles smiled at them through the rear mirror and honked twice, in a very non-Giles way._

"_Do you want to go congratulate the happy couple too?" Spike asked, looking at Buffy._

"_Nah," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "I don't think right now they'll appreciate company, anyway."_

_After a moment of hesitation, he put his arms around her shoulders, glancing warily at her friends gathered a few steps ahead of them. The bus slowed down as they crossed the city border, and Spike saw Faith stand up from her place by Robin's side and walk towards them._

"_So, B." she said, sitting cross-legged on the floor and leaning lazily on the seat next to her, "what now?"_

_Buffy straightened up, but didn't pull away from Spike as she gave Faith an interrogative look._

"_We've already left Sunnydale behind," Faith explained, "in more ways than one, courtesy of theredeemed Big Bad over there." -- she motioned her chin towards Spike with a small grin -- "Which way now? I mean, I know where _**I**_ am heading for, but..." -- Buffy gave her a puzzled look and she snorted softly -- "Hasn't Willow told you where I was before she found me in Los Angeles, B.? Northern California Women's Facility. Murder 2; 25 to life."_

"_You'll turn yourself in?" Buffy asked, baffled._

"_It's not that I've missed the place all that much," Faith said, shrugging. "But I don't feel like spending the rest of my life hiding away, either. Besides," she said, reaching into her pocket and drawing out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, "you do the crime, you do the time, and all that crap."_

"_Do you have a lawyer?" Buffy asked quietly._

"_I was assigned one when I was arrested," Faith said, lighting the cigarette. "Not a very tough guy, though. Took me only forty minutes to make him cry."_

"_I think," Buffy said with a small smile, "that I know just the guy for you."_

_Before Faith could question her, they heard Thomas clear his throat, and looked up to see the Whitelighter standing behind Faith._

"_I'm sorry to interrupt," he said, "but Willow said that you might want to send these girls back home now, and we figured it'd help if I orbed them."_

"_Does that mean that the embargo has been lifted?"_

"_Yes," Thomas said. "And, Buffy," he added, sitting on the floor by Faith's side, "for all it's worth, I'm awfully sorry about that. I came as soon as I heard Willow calling; I would've come earlier if I could, but I couldn't make it past the city border..."_

"_I know," she said gently. "And it's worth a lot."_

"_Did Piper yell at them?" she suddenly asked, with a mischievous glint in her eyes._

"_You have no idea of how much," he said, smiling. "We all did. There was a lot of yelling, and crying, and pleading, and the only reason why things didn't get really ugly was the fact that Phoebe had some kind of premonition about this one year ago and she assured everyone that you'd all make it through it."_

"_I'd like to talk to Piper," Buffy sighed. "Would you ask her if it's alright if I make a collect call?"_

"_I'm sure she won't mind," Thomas said. "She's been worried sick about you all and will be glad to hear from you. But I'll ask her anyway, if it'll make you feel better. I want to stop by the manor anyway, to ask Leo and Paige to help me orb these girls home."_

"_Thank you."_

"_My pleasure," Thomas said. Then, turning to Spike: "How are you coping?"_

"_Us British dead," Spike said, shrugging, "we're tough."_

"_Oh well, what can I say?" the Whitelighter said with a smirk. "We are."_

_After he orbed out and Faith went back to Robin's side, Buffy and Spike just sat silently for a while, until she turned to him again and said:_

"_I'd like to spend some time in San Francisco now that this is over."_

"_Seems like a good idea to me, luv," Spike said, gently fingering her hair. "You could use a vacation."_

"_We all could," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder again. After a brief hesitation, she asked, crooking her neck to glance up at him: "So... does it mean that you're coming with us? With me?"_

"_Do you want me to?" he asked, uncertain._

_Buffy took a deep breath and straightened up again to look him in the eye._

"_Remember what you said to me two days ago, after you spent the night watching me sleep, and you asked me what that night had meant to me?"_

_Spike silently nodded his head, watching her intently._

"_What I said then..." she proceeded. "It wasn't entirely true. It does mean something. And I..." -- she hesitated, staring down at her fingernails -- "I'm not sure what it means. But I'm willing to find out."_

_She glanced up at him and added in a voice that was little more than a whisper:_

"_If you still want that, too."_

_Spike tilted his head to the side and at first just stared back at her. Then he straightened up, saying in a very deliberate voice:_

"_I'll take this as a rhetorical question."_

_Buffy shuffled her feet, annoyed; somehow she had expected his reaction to be more... enthusiastic. I mean, it's not like she was asking for fireworks and a quartet of strings; a simple "Yes" would have done!...As she opened her mouth to make a caustic retort, though, the words suddenly died in her throat. Because he had said "yes". A hundred times. He had said that he loved her, loved what she was, what she did, the way she tried. He had loved her when he didn't have a soul, when he was unable to love anyone. But he had. With a fierceness and a passion that would have consumed a weaker man, he had loved her to the point of madness, the kind of love that only a noble heart could harbor trapped inside the unbeating heart of a creature who had no soul at all. And when that unsustainable paradox threatened to devour them both, he had willingly brought upon himself what had been imposed on Angel as castigation. For her. To be a better man, the man he thought she deserved._

_Without a word, Buffy reached out and took his head between her hands._

"_I'll take that as a yes," she whispered with a smile, before pulling a very astounded vampire into a long, passionate kiss. She didn't have to open her eyes to know that half of the bus was staring at them. And, quite frankly, she didn't care._

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

As the premonition gradually faded away, Phoebe found herself standing in the middle of her own bathroom again, breathing hard and grasping the edge of the sink for support. She realized with great surprise that she couldn't remember almost anything about the premonition, and yet she somehow knew that ultimately everything would turn out fine. She also knew that Cole had to start studying the parole laws of the state of California. And that she needed to find an amulet for Buffy's champion.

_**The End  
(next installment: "A Matter of Balance")**_


End file.
